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PORTRAITS 



EMINENT AMERICANS 



NOW LIVING 



UJCLUDINQ 



PRESIDENT PIERCE AND HIS CABINET : 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL MEMOIRS OF THEIR 
LIVES AND ACTIONS. 



»■» 



BY JOHN LIVINGSTON, 

OF THE NEW YORK BAR. 



■♦«» 



157 BROADWAY. 

Conbon : 

SAMPSON LOW, SON & CO, 

|)aris : 

A. & W. GALIGNANI & CO. 
1854. 



W\ 



i 






Entered according to Act of Congi-ess, in the year 1854, by 

JOHN LIVINGSTON, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 

District of New York. 



6»FT 

"flWABET W. CUSHING 

JAN. 26. 1938 



R. Craighead, Printer, 

53 Yesey Street, New York, 



TO 

GEORGE PEA BODY, 

of london. 

" My Dear Sir : 

A citizen of whom any state might be proud ; a man 
whose presence would benefit any community, and wliose 
name would reflect honor upon any office or station, I 
know of none more worthy, to whom I may inscribe 
a volume which will preserve the memory and per- 
petuate the living images of some of the great and 
good of this generation, and place before the public a 
record of lives teaching important lessons of honesty 
and industry. 

One of the most prominent and remarkable examples 
of that energy and enterprise characteristic of the 
American people, and by which you have reached an 
elevated position among the merchant princes of the 
world — in reviewing your prosperous and instructive 
history, it will also be apparent that your course has ever 
been true to the strictest integrity and the holiest dic- 
tates of justice. Mentally independent, firm, and dis- 
criminating ; morally conscientious, upright, and pure, 
your character has no shades, — no dark spot which your 
friends would- desire to conceal or remove, — no eccen- 
tricity to detract from its merits. Few now living have 
done more than yourself for the highest interests of 
humanity ; and your hospitality, generosity, and bene- 
volence are well known to the millions of your native 
land. 

That you may long be permitted to enjoy the vigorous 
health which a good constitution, temperate habits, and 
a clear conscience have blessed you with ; and that 
your valuable life may be spared for many years, are the 
sincere wishes of countless multitudes, and of 

Your Friend, 

JOHN LIVINGSTON. 



PREFACE. 



■♦»» 



This work presents to the world, sketches, with pen and pencil, of 
some of those prominent Americans now living — including clergymen, 
lawyers, doctors, soldiers, statesmen, financiers, merchants, manufacturers, 
and farmers — whose talents, energy and enterprise, while affording an 
instructive lesson to mankind, seem worthy of being held up as examples 
for emulation. That the memory of such persons should have its public 
record, is peculiarly proper ; because a knowledge of men whose sub- 
stantial fame rests upon their attainments, character and success, must 
exert a wholesome influence on the rising generation of the American 
people ; while to those who have arrived at a period in life not to be 
benefited by lessons designed for less advanced age, it cannot foil to 
prove interesting. 

While transmitting to posterity the memory of distinguished persons 
of the present day, it will instil in the minds of our children the impor- 
tant lesson, that honor and station are the sure reward of continued 
exertion — and that, compared to a good education, with habits of honest 
industry and economy, the greatest fortune would be but a poor inheri- 
tance. 

If the reader shall find the memoirs of many who have enjoyed every 
advantage which affluence and early education can bestow, he may also 
trace the history of those who, by their own unaided eftbrts, have risen 
from obscurity to the highest and most responsible trusts in the land : 
indeed, it will be found that sucsess has more generally waited upon men 
who, in early life, were not encumbered with a bountiful supply of " this 
world's goods." 



VI PREFACE, 

We are aware, to render a work of this character truly useful, dis- 
crimination and sound judgment are necessary in the selection of indivi- 
duals who are truly eminent in their respective vocations, and that such 
only should be selected as have performed most to enhance the fame and 
perpetuity of our country, or conferred the greatest benefits on the society 
in which they live. 

The following sketches exhibit, as all biography will, that those who 
are most successful in obtaining honors, public respect and wealth, have 
not pursued these as the ends of their labors, but have obtained them as 
incidents to active virtues. When we make reputation, honor, or riches, 
the motives instead of the reioards of our conduct, we reverse the order 
which Providence has established, and fail of obtaining what we are per- 
versely seeking. When Solomon Avas asked what he most desired, he 
said, "Give thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people. 
And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast 
not asked for thyself long life, nor riches, nor the life of thine enemies, lo ! 
I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart ; so that there was 
none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. 
And I have also given thee what thou hast not asked, both riches and 
honor." He asked to perform well his duties, and the performance 
brought with it riches and honor as incidents of duty. 

If a lawyer discharges well and faithfully his legal duties, riches and 
honor will follow as natural incidents ; but should he make riches the ob- 
ject of his efforts, he will not necessarily perform faithfully his legal duties, 
but by subordinating them to avarice, he will lose his business and cha- 
racter without in the end obtaining the riches thus viciously pursued. 

A politician who interests himself usefully in public matters, will ob- 
tain official station as an incident of his usefulness ; but should he make 
office the motive of his political conduct, he will be as often uselessly 
busy as actively useful, and give offence by officiousness rather than gain 
favor by usefulness. So, an officer who discharges faithfully his public 
duties, will obtain popularity as an incident of his faithfulness; but 
shoukl he pursue popularity as the object of his actions, he will not 
necessarily discharge faithfully his duties, but will subordinate them to 
his popularity, and so waver in his conduct and fluctuate in his senti- 
ments, as to tail in reaching the desired end. A physician who skilfully 
performs his practice will obtain celebrity and patronage as incidents of 
his skill ; but should he pursue celebrity and patronage as motives, he 
will magnify slight ailments, that he may obtain the merit of achieving 



PREFACE. VU 

astonishing recoveries. He will publish miraculous cures which rieVer 
occurred, and he will be contemned rather than obtain patronage Und 
celebrity. 

A hke principle pervades, necessarily, all the business occupations of 
life. The organization of man, of society, and of the universe, are alike 
favorable to honesty and virtuous conduct. Duties faithfully discharged 
lead to wealth and honor ; duties selfishly performed to poverty and dis- 
grace. There is not a name in this Avork whose life is not illustrative of 
these truths. 

In the earlier ages of the Athenian republic the Athenians rivalled 
each other in acts of patriotic devotion to their country. They embel- 
lished their city with gorgeous palaces, with magnificent temples, and 
with almost a living, breathing statuary of Pentehcan and Parian mar- 
ble, embodying the virtuous deeds of their patriots and statesmen, their 
sages and orators, their heroes and warriors, as illustrious examples of 
virtue and heroism to be inculcated and emulated by coming ages. 
True, we do not propose to perpetuate the virtues of eminent Americans 
in a statuary of brass or marble ; but our purpose is, to accomplish the 
same great object in equally as imperishable a form, and one much more 
useftil and instructive. Our pages shall relate the history of those who 
have successfully braved the storms and tempests of adversity, — whose 
energy and decision of character have overcome every obstacle which 
surrounded their pathway to eminence and distinction, and who have be- 
come prominent in some profession or calling. To these we shall refer 
the young men of America, as bright and glorious examples worthy to 
be imitated and emulated. The fact that our public honors are open to 
the attainment of every citizen, is a prospect which fills the soul of the 
ambitious, and rouses every faculty of mind and body to exert its utmost 
force. 

It is needless to remark on the extended information and delight we 
derive from the multiplication of portraits by engraving, or on the 
more important advantages resulting from the study of biography. 
Separately considered, the one affords an amusement not less innocent 
than elegant, inculcates the rudiments, or aids the progress of taste, and 
rescues from the hand of time the perishable monuments raised by the 
pencil or the daguerrian art. The other — while it is, perhaps, the more 
agreeable branch of historical literature — is certainly the more useful in 
its moral efiects; statfhg the known circumstances and endeavoring to 
unfold the secret motives of human conduct ; selecting all that is worthy 



Vlil PREFACE. 

of being recorded ; bestowing its lasting encomiums and chastisements, 
it at once informs and invigorates the mind, warms and mends the heart. 
It is, however, from the combination of portrait and biography that we 
reap the utmost degree of utility and pleasure which can be derived 
from them. As, in contemplating the portrait of an eminent person, we 
long to be instructed in his history, so, in considering his actions, we 
are anxious to behold his countenance. So earnest is this desire, that the 
imagination is generally ready to coin a set of features, or to conceive 
a character, to supply the painful absence of one or the other. It is 
impossible to conceive a w^ork which ought to be more interesting than 
one which will exhibit before our progeny their fathers as they lived, 
accompanied with such memoirs of their lives and characters as shall 
furnish a comparison of persons and countenances with sentiments and 
actions. 

The memoirs are accurate and authentic, recourse having been inva- 
riably had to the most competent and unequivocal authorities in the 
statement of facts. Each sketch is accompanied by an exact and well 
executed portrait of its subject, engraved in the best manner on steel, 
from daguerreotypes, expressly for the work. Some of the first talent in 
the country has been employed on the engravings ; and no effort has 
been wanting to render the work splendid as well as valuable — one which 
will equally adorn the library or embellish the parlor. 

While preserving the memory and perpetuating the living images of 
sorne of the great and good of this generation, this work will also place 
before the public examples begetting an emulation which must kindle 
that honorable ambition, forming the main incentive to vigorous exertion 
and great and noble actions. And if, in but a single instance, the record 
of one of these lives, fi-om obscuiity up through the arduous paths of 
manhood to distinction, shall kindle laudable ambition, invigorate 
patriotic resolves, or cheer afresh the struggling aspirant to renewed 
and incessant endeavors, the author will feel that his labors hav^e not 
been unrewarded. 



CONTENTS. 



NAMES OF SUBJECTS CLASSIFIED ALPHABETICALLY. 



PAGE 

•ALLEN, STEPHEN M., of Boston, Massachusetts; Merchant 

and Banker, . . . . . • . .451 

BURNETT, JACOB, LL.D. (deceased), late of Cincinnati, 
Ohio ; . Jurist and Statesman ; Member of the French 
Academy of Sciences, . . • • . . .163 

BROOKS, CHARLES, of Boston, Massachusetts ; Author and 

Clergyman, . . . . . . • • .481 

BROOKS, NATHAN COVINGTON, A.M., of Baltimore, Mary- 
land ; Author and Teacher, ...... 465 

BROWN, AARON V., of Nashville, Tennessee ; Lawyer; ex- 
Member of Congress, and late Governor of the State of 
Tennessee, 163 

BULLOCK, WILLIAM F., of Louisville, Kentucky ; Lmoyer ; 

Judsfe of the Circuit Court for the Sixth Circuit, . . 305 

CAMPBELL, JAMES, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Lawyer 

and Statesman ; Postmaster General, . . . . 51 

CARPENTER, GEORGE W., of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 

Merchant and Manufacturer, ..... 499 

CATRON, JOHN, of Nashville, Tennessee ; Jurist; Justice of 

the Supreme Court of the United States, . . . 73 

CHRISTY, WILLIAM, of New Orleans, Louisiana; Laivyer 

and Soldier, . . . . . . . . 241 

COXE, RICHARD S., of Washington, District of Columbia ; 

Laivyer, 273 



X CONTENTS. 

CUSniNG, CALEB, of NewLuryport, Massachusetts; State^i- 
man, Laivyer, and Soldier; Attorney General of the 
United States, 4*7 

CUSHMAN, henry WYLES, of Bernardstown, Massachu- 
setts ; AS^tees??ian ; formerly Lieutenant Governor, . . 329 

DAVIS, JEFFERSON, of Mississippi ; Soldier, Planter, and 

Statesman ; Secretary of War, ..... 43 
BEAN, GILBERT, of Poughkeepsie, New York; Lawyer ; 

Member of Congress, 213 

DEWITT, ALEXANDER, of Oxford, Massachusetts ; Financier 

and Statesman; Member of Congress, . . . 217 

DIXON, ARCHIBALD, of Henderson, Kentucky ; Lawyer ; 

late United States Senator, . . . . . .195 

DOBBIN, JAMES C, of Fayetteville, North Carolina ; Lawijer 

nnd Statesman ; Secretary of the Navy, ... 29 
i:)UTTON, HENRY, of New Haven, Connecticut; Lawyer; 

Professor of Law in Yale College, . . . .231 

EAVES, NATHANIEL RIDLEY, of Chesterville, South Caro- 
lina; Laivyer and Soldier, . . . . . .341 

EDMONDS, JOHN W., of New York ; Jurist ; for many years 

Jiistice of the Supreme Court of New York, . . .145 

FOSTER, LAFAYETTE S., ' LL.D., of Norwich, Connecticut ; 
Latvyer ; formerly Mayor of Norwich, and Speaker of 
the Connecticut House of Representatives, . , . 235 

GRAVES, CALVIN, of Locust Hill, North Carolina ; States- 
man ; formerly Speaker of the House of Commons, 
North Carolina, . . . . . . . .375 

GRIER, ROBERT C, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; Jurist ; 

Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, . 67 

GUTHRIE, JAMES, of Louisville, Kentucky; Laivyer and 

Statesman; Secretary of the Treasury, . . . . 21 

HALL, WILLARD, of Wilmington, Delaware ; Statesman and 

Jurist, ......... 101 

HARRINGTON, SAMUEL MAXWELL, of Dover, Delaware ; 
Statesman and Jurist ; Associate Justice of the Su- 
perior Court of Delaware, 109 

ITAYNE, ISAAC W., of Charleston, South Carolina; La.wyer ; 

Attorney General for the State of South Carolina, . . 227 

HITCHCOCK, PETER (deceased), late of Burton, 0\x\o ', Jurist ; 

for many years Chief Justice of Ohio, . . . . 81 



CONTENTS. XI 

KEITH, CHARLES FLEMING, of Athens, Tennessee ; Planter 
and Jurist ; Judge of the Circuit Court for the Third 
Circuit, . . . .3GT 

MARCY, WILLIAM L., of Albany, New York ; Lawyer and 

Statesman ; Secretary of State, . . . . . l '. 

MARSHALL, BENJAMIN, of Troy, New York ; Merchant and 

Manufacturer^ . . . . . . . .44 7 

McCLELLAND, ROBERT, of Lansing, Michigan ; Laio7/er and 

Statesman ; Secretary of the Interior, .... 55 

McHENRY, JOHN H., of Hartford, Kentucky ; Lawyer and 

Statesman, . . . . . . . . . -311 

McLEAN, JOHN, LL.D., of Cincinnati, Ohio ; Statesman and 
Jurist; Justice of the Supreme Court of the United 
States, ...........")!) 

MERRICK, PLINY, of Massachusetts ; Jurist ; Judge of the 

Supreme Court of Massachusetts, . . . . .121 

MONKUR, JOHN C. S., of Baltimore, Maryland ; Physician ; 
Professor in the Washington University, 

ORR, JAMES L., of Anderson C. H., South CaroHna ; Lawyer ; 
Member of Congress, ....... 

PATTERSON, ANGUS, of Barnwell District, South Carolina ; 

Lawyer B.m\ Planter ; late President of the State Senate, 221 

PEABODY, GEORGE, of Danvers, Massachusetts ; Banker and 

Merchant in London, ....... 423 

PHILLIPS, WILLARD, of Boston, Massachusetts; Laivyer ; 

Author of " Phillips on Insurance," and other works, . 291 

PICKENS, EZEKIEL, of Selma, Alabama; Lawyer and Planter; 
formerly Circuit Judge and Member of the Alabama 
Legislature, . . . . . . . . .281 

PIERCE, FRANKLIN, of Concord, New Hampshire ; States- 
man, Lawyer, and Soldier ; President of the United 
States, .......... 1 

PILLOW, GIDEON J., of Tennessee ; Laivyer, Planter, and 

Soldier ; Major-General in the Mexican War, . . 1G9 

RANDALL, GEORGE M., A.M., of Boston, Massachusetts; 

Clergyman ; Rector of the Church of the Messiah, . 495 

ROST, PIERRE X., of Louisiana; Jurist and Planter ; Justice 

of the Supreme Court of Louisiana, . . . .118 

SIMON, EDWARD, of Saint Martinsdlle, Louisiana ; Jurist 

and Planter, ........ 325 



459 



205 



XU CONTENTS. 

TOWSON, NATHAN, of Maryland; Soldier; Paymaster 

General of the United States Army, . . . .381 

WALWORTH, REUBEN HYDE, of Saratoga Springs, New 
York ; Soldier, Statesman, and Jurist ; the last of the 
New York Chancellors, 127 

WILDER, MARSHALL P., of Boston, Massachusetts; Mer- 
chant and Horticulturist, . . „ . . .513 



CONTENTS. 



STATES ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED. 



ALABAMA— pa«e 

EZEKIEL PICKENS, of Salem; Lawyer and Planter; formerly 
Circuit Judge and Member of tlie Alabama Legislature, . 281 

CONNECTICUT- 
HENRY BUTTON, of New Haven ; Lawyer ; Professor of 

Law in Yale College, . . . • • ■ .231 
LAFAYETTE S. FOSTER, of Norwicb ; Lawijcr ; formerly 
Mayor of Norwich, and Speaker of the Connecticut House of 
Representatives, . . . . . • . .235 
JOHN H. McHENRY, of Hartford; Zawyer and 5tofema«, .311 

DELAWARE- 

WILLARD HALL, of Wilmington ; Statesman and Jurist, . 101 
SAMUEL MAXWELL HARRINGTON, of Dover, Statesman 
and Jurist ; Associate Justice of the Superior Court of 
Delaware, 109 

DISTRICT Or COLUMBIA- 
RICHARD S. COXE, of Washington ; ZaMjyer, . . .273 

KENTUCKY- 
WILLIAM F. BULLOCK, of Louisville ; Laivyer ; Judge of 

the Circuit Court for the Sixth Circuit, .... 305 
ARCHIBALD DIXON, of Henderson; Lawyer; United 

States Senator, . . . . . • . .195 

JAMES GUTHRIE, of Louisville; Lawyer and Statesman; 

Secretary of the Treasury, 21 



Xiv CONTENTS. 

LOUISIANA- 
WILLIAM CHRISTY, of New Orleans ; Lawyer and Soldier, . 241 

PIERRE A. ROST, of New Orleans ; Jurist and Planter ; 
Justice of the Supreme Court of Louisiana, |k . . .113 

EDWARD SIMON, of Saint Martinsville; Jurist and Planter, 325 

MAHYLAND— 

NATHAN COVINGTON BROOKS, of Baltimore ; Autlwr and 
Teacher, 465 

JOHN C. S. MONKUR, of Baltimore ; Physician ; Professor 
in the Washington University, 459 

NATHAN TOWSON, of Maryland; Soldier; Paymaster 
General of the United States Army, 381 

MASSACHUSETTS- 
STEPHEN M. ALLEN, of Boston; Merchant and Banker,. 451 
CHARLES BROOKS, of Boston; Author and Clergyman, .481 
CALEB GUSHING, of Newburyport; Statesman, Lawyer, 

and Soldier ; Attorney General of the United States, . .47 
HENRY WYLES CUSHMAN, of Bernardston ; Statesman ; 

formerly Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, . . .329 

ALEXANDER DE^VITT, of Oxford; Financier and States- 
man; Member of Congress, 217 

PLINY MERRICK, of Worcester ; Jurist ; Judge of the 
Massachusetts Supreme Court, . . . . . .121 

GEORGE PEABODY, of Danvers; Banker ?ai^ Merchant m 
London, .......... 423 

WILLARD PHILLIPS, of Boston; Lawyer; Author of 
" Phillips on Insurance," and other works, . . . .291 

GEORGE M. RANDALL, of Boston ; Clergyman ; Rector of 
the Church of the Messiah, ...... 495 

MARSHALL P. WILDER, of Boston ; Merchant and Horti- 
culturist, .......... 513 

MICHIGAN- 
ROBERT McClelland, of Lansing; Lawyer and States- 
man ; Secretary of the Interior, 55 

MISSISSIPPI- 
JEFFERSON DAVIS, of Mississippi ; Soldier, Planter, and 
Statesman ; Secretary of War, 43 



CONTENTS. XV 



NEW HAMPSHIRE— 



FRAXKLm PIERCE, of Concord ; Statesman, Lawyer, and 
Soldier ; President of the United States, .... 1 

NEW YORK- 
GILBERT DEAX, of Poughkeepsie ; Lawyer ; Member of 

Congress, . , . . . . , . .213 

JOHN W. EDMONDS, of New York; Jurist; for many 

years Justice of th e Supreme Court of New York, . . 145 

WILLIAM L. MARCY, of Albany ; Lawyer and Statesman ; 
Secretary of State, . . . . . . . .13 

BENJAMIN MARSHALL, of Troy; Merchant and Manu- 
facturer, .......... 44'J' 

REUBEN HYDE WALWORTH, of Saratoga Springs; 
Soldier, Statesman, and Jurist ; the last of the New York 
Chancellors, 127 

NORTH CAROLINA— 

JoiVMES C. DOBBIN, of Fayetteville ; Zaji'yer and Statesman; 

Secretary of the Navy, ....... 29 

CALVIN GRAVES, of Locust Hill; Statesman; formerly 

Speaker of the House of Commons, N. C, .... 3*75 

OHIO- 
JACOB BURNETT (deceased), late of Cincinnati; Jurist 

and Statesman ; Member of the French Academy of Sciences, 153 
PETER HITCHCOCK (deceased), late of Burton; Jurist; 

for many years Chief Justice of Ohio, . . . .81 
JOHN McLEAN, of Cincinnati ; Statesman and Jurist; Justice 

of the Supreme Court of the United States, . . .59 

PENNSYLVANIA- 
JAMES CAMPBELL, of Philadelphia; Lawyer and Statesman ; 

Postmaster General, . . . . . . .51 

GEORGE W. CARPENTER, of Philadelphia ; Merchant and 

Manufacturer, ......... 

ROBERT C. GRIER, of Philadelphia ; Jurist; Justice of the 

Supreme Court of the United States, . . . . .67 

SOUTH CAROLINA- 
NATHANIEL RIDLEY ExVVES, of ChesterviUe ; Laivyer, 
Soldier, and State Senator, 341 



Xvi CONTENTS. 

ISAAC W. HAYNE, of Charleston ; Lawyer; Attorney Gene- 
ral of the State of S. C, 227 

JAMES L. ORR, of Anderson C. H. ; Lawijer ; Member of 
Congress, 205 

A^GUS PATTERSON, of Bardwell District ; Lawyer and 
P/fm^er; late President of the State Senate, . . .221 

TENNESSEE- 
AARON V. BROWN, of Nashville; Lawyer ; Ex-Member 

of Congress, and late Governor of the State of Tennessee, . 163 
JOHN CATRON, of Nashville ; Jurist ; Justice of the Supreme 

Court of the United States, IS 

CHARLES FLEMING KEITH, of Athens; Planter and 

Jurist ; Judge of the Circuit Court for the Third Circuit, . SeY 
GIDEON J. PILLOW, of Tennessee; Laivyer, Planter,' and 

Soldier; Major-General in the Mexican war, . . .169 




^^^c 




DjL^^rT OT TSi: TZi^z^Tun stjit£:.s. 



- ''nzfzcnc^meri4:ayts 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL MEMOIRS. 



FRANKLIN PIERCE, 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

His father — Benjamin Pierce — was born in the year 1757, at the vil- 
lage of Chelmsford — now the nourishing- manufacturing city of Lowell — 
in Massachusetts. Having had tiie misfortune to lose both his parents in 
early life, he became the ward of an uncle, under whom he was brought 
up to the frugal lot of a New England farmer's boy in those early days. 

When but eighteen years olil, whilst at the plough, the news reached 
him of the massacres of Lexington and Concord, and leaving the share in 
the unfinished furrow, he hastily seized his uncle's gun and equipments, 
resolving to avenge the blood of these martyi's, or add his own to his 
country's cause. 

He enlisted in the continental army, and was present as a private in 
its ranks at the bloody action of liunker's Hill. 

He served throughout the whole of the Revolutionary War, and 
returned at the end of seven years, the commander of a company. He 
was retained in the army until its final disbandment at West Point in 
1784, and then retired; his only reward, the consciousness of having 
well performed the patriot's duty ; his rank, au'l his pay in the conti- 
nental currency, then almost worthless. 

Li the spring of 1786, he built himself a log cabin, and commenced 
the clearing and cultivation of a tract of wild land, which he had pur- 
chased in the preceding year, whilst employed as agent to explore the 
district, in the midst of which now stands the town of Hillsborough. In 
the succeeding year, he took to his new home, as a wife, Elizabeth An- 
drews, in wdiose companionship his enjoyment was brief, for she died within 
that year, leaving to his charge? a daughter — the present widow of Cieneral 
John McNeil. In 1789, he mariied Anna Kendrick, who was his lovin<r 
helpmate in his prime and through his declining years, and who bore him 
eiglit children, of whom his present illustrious son was the sixth. 

We must beg the patience of the reader to allow us the pleasing task 
of dwelHng for a few moments longer upon the incidents of the life of this 
revolutionary hero ; and not the less for the reason that his position as 
parent to the personage of whom we shall directly speak, is strikingly 
illustrative of the fact of hereditary greatness. 

W^hilst engaged in clearing his wild lands, and performing the first 
acts of civilization in a portion of his state then so httle known, that 
he had been commissioned to explore it in 1786, he received the appoint- 
ment of Brigade-major of the militia of Hillsborough county, then 
first organized. In 1789, he was elected to the State Legislature, in 



2 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICAXS. 

which body he held his seat for thirteen successive years, until chosen a 
Member of the Council ; during this period, however, he did not neglect 
his military duties, but became a Field Officer, and finally General of the 
militia of the county. In 1801 — to show^ the estimation in which his 
military talents were held during the administration of the elder Adams — 
he was oft'ered a high command in the northern division of the army 
which was proposed to be levied in anticipation of a war with France ; 
but ever faithful to his principles, and inflexibly democratic in his political 
faith, he refused to be implicated in a policy which he could not approve, 
and his answer to the gentlemen who pressed his acceptance of the com- 
mission, should be emblazoned in letters of gold, and placed conspicuously 
before his countrymen. " No," replied the patriot, " poor as I am, and 
acceptable as would be the position under other circumstances, I would 
sooner go to yonder mountain, dig me a cave, and live on roast potatoes, 
than be instrumental in promoting the objects for which that army is to 
be raised !" And it is a singular fact that the same simile should have 
served another patriot — the partisan Marion — to illustrate his devotion to 
his principles, when overtures were made to him by British officers. 

Another touching incident is related of him. On the 26th of December, 
1825 — it being his sixty-seventh birth-day — he had prepared a festival 
for his comrades in arms — the survivors of the Revolution — eighteen of 
whom, all inhabitants of Hillsborough, assembled at his house. They 
spent the day in festivity, reviewing the great deeds they had witnessed 
and helped to do, and in reviving the old sentiments of the era of seventy- 
six. At nightfall, after a manly and pathetic farewell from their host, 
they separated, " prepared" — as the old General expressed it — "at the 
first tap of the shrouded drum, to move and join their beloved Washing- 
ton, and the rest of their comrades who had fought and bled at their 
sides." 

In 1827, General Benjamin Pierce was elected Governor of the state 
of New Hampshire. In 1839, he died at the mansion he had built 
after the original log cabin had become too small for his rising family 
and fortunes. After having been spared to behold the distinction of his 
son, he departed this life at the ripe age of eighty-one, in perfect peace, 
and, until within a few hours of his death, in the full possession of his 
intellectual powers. 

• How sleep the dead, who sink to rest 
With all their country's honors blest ?" 

Franklin Pierce was born at Hillsborough, New Hampshire, on the 
23d day of November, 1804, and, upon liis election to the Presidency, 
had just reached his forty-eighth year. 

At the time of his birth, and for years after, his father was the most 
active and public-spirited man within his sphere, and, from what we have 
set down as the character of General Benjamin Pierce, it may w^ell be 
said, " If any man is bound, by birth and youthful training, to show him- 
self a brave, faithful, and able citizen of his native country, it is the son 
of such a father." 

At the commencement of the war of 1812, Franklin Pierce was about 
eight years of age ; his two brothers were in the army, and his half-sister 



FRANKLIN PIERCE, OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. g 

soon after became the wife of Major McNeil. As his father, both in 
his public capacity as a Member of the Council, and by his great local in- 
fluence in his own county, lent a strenuous support to the national ad' 
ministration, and not only took a prominent part in all public meetings, 
but was ever ready for the informal discussion of political affairs at places 
of casual resort, it is not strange that his son, in hearing these discussions, 
and listening to the argument of his venerated sire, should have become 
deeply imbued with the principles and sentiment of democratic institu- 
tions. 

His father having felt the disadvantages of a defective education, deter- 
mined to afford his son all the opportunities himself had lacked, and sent 
him early to the Academy of Hancock, and afterwards placed him in that 
of Francestown, where he resided in the family of Peter Woodbury, the 
father of the late eminent judge. 

He entered Bowdoin College at Brunswick, Maine, in 1820 ; and 
amongst his fellow students and associates were men who have since made 
their mark high in the niche of fame ; it will be sufficient to name Pro- 
fessor Stowe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, the pious Caldwell, and the chival- 
rous and lamented Cilley. At this College, with such men as these for 
competitors, he took a highly creditable degree. He was here the Chair- 
man of the Athenian Society, and first displayed his inclination for the 

"Pomp and circumstance of glorious war," 

as an officer of a military company composed of his fellow collegians. 

Nor is it to his discredit to state, that, like Webster, and nearly all the 
distinguished men of the region from which he sprang, he taught a 
country school during one of his winter vacations : kings have learned to 
rule from as humble a sphere, for 

" Men are but children of an older growth." 

After leaving college, Franklin Pierce became a student of law in the 
office of Judge Woodbury of Portsmouth, from thence he went to the 
Law School at Northampton in Massachusetts, and finished his prepara- 
tory studies in the office of Judge Paiker at Amherst. In the year 182Y 
he was admitted to the bar, and began to practise in his native town. He 
was not very successful in his earliest cases, but a proof of his indomitable 
will and self-reliance is recorded in the remark made by him to a friend 
who wished to console him on the loss of a case : " I will try nine hun- 
dred and ninety-nine cases, and if I fail, just as I have to-day, I will try 
the thousandth." He felt the strength within him — he knew that time 
w^ould bring it out. 

In 1829 he was elected a Representative of his native town to the Le- 
gislature of the State. He served in that body four years, the last two 
years as speaker, to which office he was chosen by a vote greater than 
two thirds. 

He Avas sent to the Congress of the United States in 1833, and his Con- 
gressional life, though it made but little show, was full of labor directed to 
substantial objects. He was a member of the Judiciary and other impor- 
tant Committees ; and the drudgery of the Committee room, where so 



4 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

much of the real public business of the country is performed, fell iu large 
measure to his lot. General Jackson, the man of liis choice, and to whom 
his first political faith had been given, when a youthful combatant he had 
entered the political arena, then occupied the Presidential Chair, and to 
the sustaining of his measures were all his powers exerted ; and, in after 
years, when the Old Hero was about passing away, he remarked, as if a 
glimpse of the future liad been granted to him, and his enlarged vision 
then comprehended what has since come to pass, " The interests of the 
country will be safe in the hands of Franklin Pierce." 

He continued in the House of Representatives four years, and in 183V 
was elected to the Senate ; and after performing services there, for which 
his country has proved herself grateful, in June, 1842, he resigned his seat 
and retired to the sweets of domestic life, taking up again his profession 
to repair by its practice the inroads which the public service had made 
upon his means. In 1834 he had married a daughter of the Rev. Doctor 
Ai:)pleton, a former President of Bowdoin College. Three sons had now 
been born to him, and to this increase of family, and his well known pre- 
dilection for a domestic life, may be attributed his sudden and unlooked 
for resignation of the honorable position of Senator, which upon its an- 
nouncement filled the Senate Chamber with surprise, and in its fulfilment 
left a void in that body long sensibly felt. 

In 1838 he removed from Hillsborough to Concord, where he sedu- 
lously applied himself to the duties of his profession, and where he fulfilled 
the promise of his youth. Nor had he now occasion to " try again ;" — he 
had found the strength, he ihen knew he possessed — time and application 
had brought it out — and his reputation as a lawyer is surpassed by none 
in a state where such a standing is not easily obtained. 

In 1846 he was ofi'ered by President Polk the post of Attorney-Gene- 
ral of the United States, which he modestly declined in consideration of 
the interests of his clients, and the health of Mrs. Pierce, thus showing his 
devotion to those who had intrusted their aftairs to his keeping; and that 
most beautiful trait of his character, which is in accordance with the 
whole tenor of his life. 

He had previously been tendered by the Governor the appointment of 
U. S. Senator, which he had declined for similar reasons ; and as if 
fortune would still persist in thinsting honors upon him, he was nomi- 
nated by a democratic convention for Governor, and again refused the dis 
tinetion. 

In his letter to President Polk, declining the Attorney-Generalship, 
this passage occurs : " When I resigned my seat in the Senate in 1 842, I 
did so with the fixed purpose never again to be voluntarily separated from 
ray family for any considerable length of time, except at the call of my 
country in time of war." And this contingency did soon present itself, 
for shortly after, in 1847, when the State of New Hampshire was called 
upon to furnish its proportion of troops for the Mexican War, Mr. Pierce, 
true to his pledge and democratic principles, enrolled himself a member 
of one of the first Volunteer Companies of Concord, and performed the 
duties of a private in the ranks. Merit like his, however, could not long 
remain concealed, and on the passage of the IJill for the increase of the 
army, he received the appointment of Colonel of the Ninth Regiment, 
which was the quota of New England towards the ten regiments to be 



FRANKLIN PIERCE, OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 5 

raised ; and in March of the same year was commissioned Brigadier-Gene- 
ral in the Army. 

On the 27th of May he emharked at Newport with his command, and 
after a tedious passage of thirty days, arrived at Vera Cruz, wliere he 
found that dreadful scourge — the Vomito — raging violently. Anxious for 
the health of his men, he had them conveyed directly from the transports 
to Viraga — an extensive sandy beach upon the gulf, about two miles be- 
yond the walls of the city. From hence he found great difficulty in taking 
up his line of march, a stampede having taken place among the mules 
collected for his train, in which some fifteen hundred were lost. On the 
16th of July, after a delay of nearly three weeks, during which time 
many of his best officers and men were victims to the Vcmiito, he started 
for the main army, with animals so intractable that he was only able to 
advance a few miles before darkness compelled him to bivouac for the 
safety of his train. The next morning he commenced his march at four 
o'clock, and reached Santa Fe at eight, where, finding the heat too oppres- 
sive for both men and beasts, he remained in camp until four P.M., when 
he pnshetl on, and arrived at San Juan the same evening, in the midst of 
a drenching rain. 

In his march from Telema Nueva to the Puente Nacionale he had an 
engagement with the Guerillas, in which he speaks highly of the con- 
duct of his men, then for the first time under fire. The enemy's loss was 
set down by themselves at forty, whilst of his command but six were 
wounded and seven horses killed. This action was creditable to his skill 
as a general, not only in regard to the superiority of the force he repulsed 
— for the whole country, as far back as Jalapa, was swarming with these 
independent warriors, intimate with every mountain path and secret 
defile — but also as to the manner in which his troops were placed, as 
shown in the small loss sustained. 

At the National Bridge he again found the enemy prepared to dispute 
his progress, having thrown a barricade across the bridge, and making a 
strong demonstration in the village beyond, where their lancers were in 
position. These, however, were soon dispersed, and he took possession 
of the village, locating his head-quarters at one of the splendid villas of 
Santa Anna. 

During the action he had a very narrow escape, an escopete ball 
removing the rim of his sombrero, which he only notices from the incon- 
venience of "leaving his head exposed to the rays of the sun." 

At the Plan del Rio he found the entire main arch of the viaduct blown 
up, and a span of about sixty feet removed ; this difficulty he soon 
overcame, and in less than four hours a road was constructed over which 
the men and waggons passed safely. 

From Plan del Rio he proceeded to Jalapa, which was reached on the 
25th of July, and then(;e he continued on to La Hoya, where he 
arrived on the 29tli, without molestation. But now the effects of the 
climate, exposure, and improper indulgence in fruit, which the strictest 
discipline could not prevent their obtaining, began to tell terribly on his 
troops, and over four hundred of his command were upon the sick list. 
On the first of August, he encamped under the walls of the castle of 
Perote, where he halted several days to repair damages, procure supplies, 
and give rest to his troops. He left, his sick at the castle, receiving from 



6 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

the garrison an equal number of convalescents, and having thus recruited 
his command, reached the main army at Puebla on the 7th of August, 
with twenty-four hundred men, in fine order, and without the loss of a 
single waggon. 

Upon the arrival of this reinforcement. General Scott broke up his camp, 
and began his march upon the Capital. 

On the 19th the sanguinary conflict of Contreras took place. In this 
action, whilst a portion of the American forces were ordered to move 
against the left flank of the Mexican army, then in strong position under 
Valencia, to divert his attention from their movements, a vigorous assault 
was made upon his front, and General Pierce's brigade was included in 
the attacking party. The assault, at first intended as a partial demonstra- 
tion, was so desperately resisted, that it soon became a severe engage- 
ment, — and, as the Mexican artillery in full force, and strongly entrenched, 
poured showers of round shot, grape, cannister, and sludl, upon the little 
bands of Americans, who, fiom the nature of the ground were unable to 
bring their artillery to bear, their position assumed the character of a 
*' forlorn hope." 

General Pierce, in the midst of this fire, leaped his horse upon an 
eminence, and addressed the troops as they passed — reminding them of 
the honor of their country, and of the victory their steady valor would 
contribute to achieve. Pressing forward to the head of the column, his 
horse slipped among the rocks, thrust his foot into a crevice, and fell, 
breaking his own leg, and crushing his rider heavily beneath him. 
When his orderly approached he was stunned and nearly insensible, and 
Deing extricated from his dangerous position he was found to be severely 
Druised, and his left knee badly sprained from the weight of the animal 
in falling upon it. Whilst his orderly was assisting him to the shelter 
of a projecting rock, a shell falling close beside them exploded, covering 
them both with earth ; in a calm tone General Pierce remarked, " that 
was a lucky miss." 

Doctor liitcliie, attached to his brigade, was fortunately at hand, and 
having administeied to him as well as circumstances would permit, 
strongly remonstrated against his rejoining his troops in such a condi- 
tion ; but the general, supported by his orderly, Avith great pain and 
difficulty reached the battery of Captain McGruder, where finding the 
horse of a wounded officer, at his own urgent request, he was assisted to 
mount. In answer to a remark that he would be unable to keep his seat, 
he replied "then you must tie me on," and rode forward into the battle. 

General Pierce remained in the saddle until eleven o'clock that night, 
when beneath a torrent of rain, destitute of a tent or other protection, 
without food or refreshment, he stretched himself upon an ammunition 
waggon, where he lay, prevented by the pain of his wounded limb from 
gaining the least repose. At early dawn he was again in the saddle at 
the head of his brigade, which had taken its former position in front of 
the enemy. Soon after the Mexican camp was stormed, and in the short 
space of seventeen minutes had fiillen into the hands of its assailants, 
together with a multitude of prisoners. 

The remnant of the routed army fled towards Churubusco, and Pierce 
led his brigade in pursuit until they reached the strong positions there, 
and at San Antonio. 



FRANKLIN PIERCE, OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 7 

As Santa Anna, after tin's defeat, appeared to be anxious to Mitlidraw 
his force towards the city, in order to intercept this movement, I'ierce's 
briijade, with other troops, was ordered to pursue a route and attack the 
enemy in the rear. When he approached the Commander-in-Chief to 
receive his order>, (tenei-al Scott remarked — " Pierce, my dear fellow, 
you are badly injured, you are not fit to be in the saddle." "Yes, 
general, I am," replied Pierce, "in a case like this." "You cannot 
touch your foot to the stirrup," said Scott. " One of them T can," 
answered Pierce. The general looked again at Pierce's almost di>abled 
figure, and seemed on the point of taking his irrevocable resolution. 
"You are rash. General Pierce," said he, "we shall lose you and we 
cannot spare you, it is my duty to order you back to San Augustine." 
"For God's sake! General." exclaimed Pierce — " don't say that, this is 
our last great battle, and I must lead my brigade." 

The Commander-in-Chief made no remonstrance, but gave the order 
for Pierce to advance. 

The way lay through thick standing^ corn, and over marshy ground, 
intersected with ditches, which were filled or partially so, with water ; 
over some of the narrower of these Pierce leaped his horse. When the 
brigade had advanced about a mile, however, it found its progress 
impeded by a ditch ten or twelve feet wide, and six or eight feet deep. 
It being impossible to leap it. General Pierce was lifted from his saddle, 
and in some incomprehensible manner, hurt as he was, contrived to wade 
or scramble across this obstacle, leaving his horse on the hither side. 
The troops were now under fire. In the excitement of the battle, he 
forgot his injuries and hurried forward, leading the brigade a distar.ce of 
two or three hundred yards. But the exhaustion of his frame, and par- 
ticularly the anguish of his knee, made more intolerable by such free use 
of it, was greater than any strength of nerve, or any degree of mental 
energy, could struggle against. He fell, faint and almost insensible, 
within full range of the enemy's fire. It was ])roposed to bear him oft" 
the field, but as some of his soldiers approached to lift him he became 
aware of their purpose, and was partially revived by his determination 
to resist it. " No," said he, with all the strength he had left. " don't 
carry me off"! leave me here ;" and there he lay under the tremendous fire 
of Clmrubusco, until the enemy in total rout was driven from the ileld. 

Immediately after this victory, Santa Anna sent a flag of truce pro- 
posing an armistice with a view to negotiations for peace, and General 
Pierce was appointed by the Commander-in-Chief one of the commission- 
ers on our part, together with Generals Quitman and Persifer F. Smith, 
to arrange the terms of this armistice. Pierce was unable to walk or to 
raoimt his horse without assistance, when intelligence of his appointment 
reached him. He had not removed his spurs, nor slept an hour lor two 
nights, but he immediately obeyed the summons, was assisted into the 
saddle and rode to Tacubaya, where, at the house of the British Consul 
General, the American and Mexican Commissioners were assembled ; the 
conference began late in the afternoon, and continued until four o'clock the 
next morning, when the articles were signed. Pierce then proceeded to 
the quarters of General Worth, where he obtained a short repose. 

The armistice was of short duration, Santa Anna having resorted to 
his favorite ruse to prevent the American troops from taking possession 

VOL. III. 



8 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

of the capital, Avliich might have been entered immediately aft«r the 
battle of CJiurubusco. 

The next battle was that of Molino del Rey, one of the most obstinately 
contested and sanguinary coiitliet.s of the whole campaign. In this 
action General Worth Avitli three thousand troops attacked and routed 
fourteen thousand Mexicans, driving them under the protection of the 
guns of Chapultepec. General Pierce was ordered with his brigade to 
the support of "Worth. With his usual alacrity he pushed forward, but 
arrived just in time to see the gallant Worth master of the field; but 
doubtless the ardor and lapidity of his approach greatly added to the 
panic of the Mexicans, and although he did not assist in their defeat, yet 
he had the satisfaction of interposing his forces between Worth and the 
retreating enemy, and thus drew upon himself the fire of Chapultepec. 
A shell from the castle bursting near his horse so startled the animal 
that he came near plunging owv an adjacent precipice. Still under fire, 
his brigade was actively engaged in removing the wounded, and securing 
the captured ammunition, and whilst thus occupied he led a portion of 
his conmiand to repel the attacks of the enemy's skirmishers. 

Although still sutiering from his injuries and over-exertion. General 
Pierce had continued to act with his brigade, and on the day previous 
to the battle of Chapultepec had occupied the field of Molino del Pey. 
Contrary to expectation it was found that the enemy had withdrawn his 
forces, and Pierce having remained upon the field until noon, when it 
became certain that the contemplated attack would not take place until 
the following day, returned to the quarters of General Worth ; here 
his strength, exerted beyond the powers of human endurance, gave way, 
and he remained unable to move from his bed for thirty-six hours. In 
that time the glorious battle of Chapultepec had been gained, in which 
his brigade behaved most gallantly and suft'ered severely, and Colonel 
Ransom, in leading the ninth regiment, was shot. An obstinate defence 
was now made at the gates of Belen and San Cosmo, and it was expected 
that it would be necessary to storm the city. When this was told to 
General Pierce, he made an attempt to rise from his bed and dress him- 
self, but was prevailed upon by Captain Ilardcastle to remain and hus- 
band his strength until there should be immediate occasion for its use. 
In this he appeared to acquiesce, but arose in the night, and making his 
Avay to the trenches reported himself to General Quitman, with whom a 
part of his brigade was acting. Quitman's share in the anticipated 
assault, it was supposed, owing to the position which his troops occupied, 
would be more perilous than that of Worth. But the war was ended. 
The campaign had closed with Chapultepec. The Mexicans had aban- 
doned their capital. The victorious Americans took possession, and 
soon the stars and stripes were floating proudly over the " Halls of the 
Montezumas." 

General I'ierce remained in Mexico until December, when the war 
being concluded, and negotiations for peace nearly settled, he returned 
to his loved home, and resigning his commission applied himself again 
to tlie practice of law. 

In 1850, in pursuance of a vote of the people of New Hampshire, a 
convention was assembled at Concord for a revision of the constitution, 
and General Pierce was elected its president by an almost unanimous 



FRA^KLI^^ pierce, of new Hampshire. 9 

ballot. In this convention lie was active in his exertions to procure the 
repeal of the illiberal Catholic test, — so long a stain on the statute-book 
of that State — and aided by Judge AN'oodbury and other democratic 
menibeis, attained his purpose as far as the Convention possessed any 
power or responsibility in the matter. 

On the r2th of June, 1852, the democratic convention at Baltimore 
nominated Franklin Pierce as their candidate for the presidency of the 
United States, and in the fall of the same year he received the vote of 
nea:ly all the electoral colleges — an unanimity unparalleled since the 
days of Washington ; and on the fourth day of March last he was pub- 
licly inaugurated the president of the United States. 

The professional qualifications of General Pierce as a practising lawyer 
were of the highest character. A spectator who witnesses an interesting 
trial in a court of justice, while gratified by the intellectual exhibition 
there presented, can hardly realize the training by which the gladiators 
in the legal arena have acquired their strength and skill. Legal know- 
ledge, ready to be used at a moment's warning, self-possession, experience 
of human nature— all the energies of a w-ell stored and self-poised mind, 
are called into constant requisition in every important trial. These qua- 
lifications Mr. Pierce in an eminent degree combined. He had, besides, 
the advantage of entering upon his profession with a finished academical 
and legal education. By severe study he had mastered the science of 
law, till his mind played with its subtlest distinctions — but he never 
neglecied close and untiring preparation for each particular cause. 
Those who knew his mode of transacting business, remai'ked the cai-eful 
manner in which his jury-trials were prepared. Many of these were, of 
course, long, intricate, and involved with many embarrassments. Such 
cases demand the most minute preparation, and it has often been observed 
that General Pierce was remarkable for anticipating difficulties, and 
making ])rovisions for contingencies likely to arise in the course of a trial, 
which were unforeseen by others. None but the practising lawyer can 
fully understand the value of this peculiar talent. Every important trial 
is full of surprises, where the light-minded, superficial, and timid advocate 
is often overcome, and a good cause iri'evocably lost by one fatal 
mis-step. 

In his addresses to the jury, as an advocate, Mr. Pierce had few equals 
and no su])eriors among his cotemporaries. His language was fluent, 
copious, and select — his manner and attitude peculiarly graceful and 
dignifieil — his voice flexible, sonorous, and entirely under his control. 
"With logical clearness he presented his strong points to the minds of the 
jury, and urged them upon their consideration with that persuasive 
eloquence whieh it is difficult to resist. 

The defence of innocence — the assertion of right — the exposure and 
punishment of fraud — and the redress of wrong — these were the occa- 
sions which roused to the utmost the energies of his mind, and furnished 
full scope for the exhibition of his uncommon power as an advocate. At 
such times, when the full exertion of his strength was demanded, his 
eloquence rose with the occasion in power and energy, and bore along 
with its irresistible torrent the convictions of his hearers. 

In addressing a jury, his aim seemeil to be, first of all, to gain their 
entire and willing confidence, by evincing his sincerity throughout the 



10 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

whole course of tlie trial. He would convince them that he was honest 
as a man ; and that he was honest as ? lawyer in advocating the inteiests 
of his client. Thus he the more easily carried the jury along with him 
to the desired conclusion. They were made to feel that he was really 
endeavoring to aid and facilitate their eftbrts to find the true state of the 
case ; and were thus disarmed of the suspicion too often well founded, 
that the advocate is j)ractising the subtilty of his art only to conceal and 
distort the truth. In this course, Mr. Pierce is worthy of all praise, and 
of all imitation. 

In the form and texture of his address, he was brief, comprehensive, 
and strong : seizing upon the main points of his case and wasting no 
strength on the unimportant or iuconsi<li i;ilile ones. By precept as well 
as by example he disapproved of the iin r.ninable and undigested argu- 
ments now so common at (he bar ; obsti'ucting, as they do, the general 
administration of justice, and weaiying out tlie patience of judges and 
jurors ; and finally, not unfrequenily ruining the cause itself which is 
thus advocated. 

Fully recognising the principle that his profession could only be used 
for moral purposes, Mr. Pierce was always anxious to prev^ent litigation 
where the ends of justice could be gained without this resort. With this 
view he was in the habit of advising his clients to settle their disputes 
by conciliation and by mutual jigreement. And he was often successful 
in brino-injT about the results which he desired. In many cases, how- 
ever, the cause of his client would be so palpably just as to leave no room 
for delay in embracing its advocacy ; in others, there was such a compli- 
cation of facts and circun:istances, as well as of precedents, that the trial 
alone could determine which party was in the right; and yet in other 
cases, more doubtful, the client was still entitled to an impartial applica- 
tion of the law to the facts which might be established by an o[)en hear- 
ing of both sides. It was, howevx'r, his constant wish and effort to bring 
about the settlement of cases, where this was possible, without their pro- 
ceeding to the expense and other evils of a public trial. 

Did our space permit, we could with pleasure say more of Mr. I'ierce's 
qualities, mental and moral. In manners he is characterized by dignified 
simplicity ; in conversation, by earnestness and truthfulness ; and in all 
liis intei course and business with men, by integrity. In his reverence for 
sincerity and truth, he has ever despised those ai-ts by which ambitious 
men court the populace, or conciliate the individual. In all the walks 
of life, public as well as private, he has been content to appear what he 
is, and tj be estimated simply for his worth. And if honors have 
flowed in U])on him, they have been the unbought homage which the 
human iieart still pays to virtue and talent exerted in the public service. 
Imbued from childhood with a deep reverence for goodness and truth in 
others, it is but natural that these qualities should be conspicuous ia 
himself. And his character might be summed up in these two words, 
integrity and earnestness — integrity, or a perfect harmony between the 
outward and inward life, pervaded and quickened by moral earnestness. 
With a character thus informed and moulded, it is not to be wondered, 
that, in the course of his professional and public life, no act can be 
pointed at whicli sullies the honored name he bears. 

This sketch would be incomplete, and lack its highest significance, if 



FRANKLIN PIERCE, OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. H 

it did not tell those who may read it, that Mr. Pierce is eniineutly a 
religious man. He was carefully educated in the religious principles 
which distinguished the first settlers of New England, and in early man- 
hood, he made a public profession of his faith in Christ. Through all 
his subsequent life, he has stood before angels and men a witness to the 
truth and the joys of religion. His convictions of the truth of Chris- 
tianity, and of its adaptation to the moral necessities of man, have grown 
with his growth, and strengthened with his strength. For many years, 
it has been his daily habit to read and ponder the Oracles of Truth. 

As we have thus briefly recounted the leading facts in the life of Gene- 
ral Pierce, before closing this sketch, we may be permitted to indulge in 
a few remarks upon his character, reviewed from a point which, though 
overlooked by other biographers, seems to pi'esent him more fa\orably as 
a man and a Christian, than all the acts of his public career. 

The manner in which he has sustained the three relations of son, hus- 
band, and father, proves to the world that General Pierce is not only a 
great, but a ffood man. 

"When, in 1842, we see him resigning his seat in the Senate cham- 
ber, to enable him to resume the practice of a laborious profession in 
order to provide for those who were more dear to him than all the world 
besides ; when, again, in declining the highest legal position in the 
country, we hear him say that a public career was never suited to his 
taste, that he longed for the quiet of domestic life, and had formed a fixed 
purpose never again to be voluntarily separated from his family for any 
length of time, we know he felt that true happiness could not be found 
except in his own dear domestic circle, and around his own fireside. But, 
how transient are earthly joys ! In 1842, lie had a famili/ : then two 
sweet little boys, roseate with the glow of that heavenly innocence to be 
found only in the child, were sleeping by their mother's side. As he 
thought of these, the sweetest dreams arose, the tenderest chords of feel- 
ing were awakened, tears of joy filled his eyes, and he felt happiness 
could find no fitter shrine, than in such a home. These were the only 
unsullied joys of this world ; the bliss of home never cloyed — the smiles 
of his children were always true. 15ut while, day and night, he labored 
to execute his design, in providing for his little household, the bitterness 
of fortune suddenly overwhelmed him. He lost a promising child, a 
beautiful little boy ; and this was the second wound that had struck 
deep to afliict him. This loss having been pieceded by that of a son in 
early infancy, he was now left with only one remaining child. The blow 
fell so heavily upon himself and his devoted wife, that neither scarcely 
wished to survive it. But, as Christians, I'rom a due sense of the 
majesty and goodness of God, tln'v were all submission and resignation 
to his divine will, neither murmuring at his dispensations, nor for a 
moment doubting the wisdom of Providence in the regulation of human 
aft'airs — though they felt that nothing afterwards could make them 
happy. Even now they cannot conceal from themselves the reason they 
had to cherish so lovely a child. The graces of his countenance, the 
sweetness of his expressions, the sparklings of his infant wit, the indica- 
tions he already gave of a placid temper, caused him to be beloved, even 
by those who were not his relatives, while it rendered still more severe 
the greatest aftiiction a parent can sufi'er. 



12 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

After tliGse calamities, there remained to Mr. Pierce his son Benjamin, 
■\vlio was all his pleasure, all his hoj>es. And indeed, he could be a 
source of comfort; for, already entered upon his seventh year, it was not 
blossoms he showed, as his younger brother, but well formed fruits, 
whose harvest could not fail. A few years passed quickly away, and 
Benjamin was a youth of twelve. He not only had great inclination to 
study, but was one of those atFectionate boys who win the love and 
esteem of all. If ever child promised to fulfil the expectations of his 
friends it was he, wdiose charming voice and sweet countenance are yet 
so well remembered. But, as if jealous of our happiness, there seems to 
reign a secret envv which pleases itself in nipping the bud of our hopes. 

In the midst of the congi'atulations of his countrymen, the last fatal 
blow came. On a winter's morning the President, his wife, and son, were 
seated with a feeling of perfect security, for a short journey on a New 
England railroad. Thei-e was a sound like a peal of thunder. The car 
was dashed against the rocks. General Pierce was childless. The eyes 
of his dear, his only son, had shut for ever to the light, and the soul had 
departed. He wept. That son who was to succeed him in all his honors, 
and share them with him in his lifetime, he was never to see more. The 
fruits and honors of his laborious life Avere to be left to strangers. 

And now, in the midst of all his triumphs, the secret sting of sadness 
remains buried in his heai't. Providence has so dispensed the good and 
the evil of life, that every man, whatever his station, or however happy 
his lot, finds crosses and afflictions which always counterbalance his 
pleasures. There is no perfect happiness on earth. Prosperity is a 
dream ; glory a mistake ; the world a deception, which feeds only vain 
phantoms, leaving nothing solid in the heart. 

God alone can comfort our afflictions ; and, in the meditation of his 
holy law, and submission to liis eternal decrees, do the bereaved parents 
seek those solid consolations which they have never found in the world, 
and whieh, while softening their afflictions here below, will secure to 
them their immortal reward hereafter. 




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SECRETAJCT OF STATE . 



^TJ/raA&dyfb-^ 3wgria>fu^>i^' SJcetch^-- 



WILLIAM L. MARCY, 

SECRETARY OF STATE. 

The first settlers of the northern shores of our country were stern men, 
who, refusing dictation as to their manner of worshipping the Supreme 
Being, became voluntary exiles from their native land, that in the New 
World they might offer up their supplications in such a manner as would 
best conform to their own views of addressing their Creator. And, truly, 
no grander temple could they have selected — no better cathedral built 
than the eternal forest surrounding New England's rock-bound coast — 
where the everlasting anthem ascended from Old Ocean's bosom, and • 
blended with the hymns of praise from those primeval woods. 

It is not asserted that the ancestors of the subject of this sketch were 
numbered amongst the pilgrims of Plymouth rock, or that they there 
offered up their first thanksgiving ; but it is certain that they rank among the 
first of those who chose New England for their home, and were of that 
Puritan stock, which, disguise the fact as you majs has given a name and 
standing to this Confederacy, which only men of such iron will and de- 
termination could give. Cast your eye over the illustrious of this L^nion, 
and frame a list of those 

" K"ames that were not born to die," 

and note what proportion can be traced back to this old Puritan stock. 
From Maine to Texas, from Carolina to California, you find its offshoots 
filling the judicial benches, prominent as merchants, useful as mechanics, 
and in every way performing the duties of good citizens. 

In tracing back the ancestry of our distinguished fellow citizen as far 
as is necessary for us to go, we find a paternal progenitor, Moses Marcy, 
born in Woodstock, Connecticut, who mairied there in the year 1723, 
and removed in 1732 to New-Medfield, afterwards called Sturbridge, where 
he became the father of a family of eleven children. 

He appears to have been a prominent citizen of that town, having built 
the first grist mill, which, although it may be sneered at now, was then no 
mean attempt ; for in referring to Clark's historical sketch of Sturbridge 
we find that the principal diet of the inhabitants was at that time boiled 
beans, " which they usually prepared on the evening of one day in sufli- 
cient quantities for the breakfast and dinner of the next." He was Colo- 
nel of Militia, and the first representative sent from the town to the Gene- 
ral Court, and, as Clark relates of him, during the old French War, he 
repeatedly fitted out soldiers for the army upon his own responsibility, 
and from his own private resources. 

When the revolutionary war took place, he was too far advanced in 
life to take part in the active scenes of that struggle, but his counsel and 
advice were never withheld, and his sons and grandsons represented him 
well and bravely, on the battle-fields of liberty. 

He died October 9, 1779, at the age of seventy-two, leaving an honor 
able name, a large estate, and a numerous posterity. 



14 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

A grandson of this Colonel Moses Marcy was the father of the subject 
of our notice. He married Ruth Learned, a descendant of the earliest 
settlers of Sturbridge ; and in that portion of the town, now known as 
Southbridge, on the 12th day of December, 1786, William L. Marcy was 
born. He received the rudiments cf knowledge in the schools of his na- 
tive town, and at the proper age was sent to the Academy at Leicester. 
It was at this time that party spirit ran high throughout the Union, but 
especially in the New England States, where the opposition to the repub- 
lican principles of Thomas Jefferson was bitter in the extreme ; and the 
politics of his preceptor being strongly federalist, the school naturally 
took its tone from its principal ; whilst young Marcy, being of a repub- 
lican family, and prominent in the advocacy of those principles, was made 
to suffer for his opinions by exclusion from a society formed for literary 
and social purposes, the members of which defended Federalist doctrines. 
Prom this academy he entered Brown University at Providence, ILL, 
where he graduated with higli honor in 1808. 

When about twenty-two years of age he removed to Troy in the State 
of New York, where, after concluding his studies, lie commenced the 
practice of the law ; and it was here too, that he made his dehul on 
the political stage. 

At the commencement of the war of 1812, being an officer of a mili- 
tary company belonging to the city of Troy, he volunteered his services, 
and acted with the company until the cessation of hostilities. This com- 
pany was among the first dispatched to the northern frontier, and was 
stationed at French Mill, now Fort Covington. 

On the night of the 22d of October, 1812, Lieutenant Marcy accom- 
panied a detachment under command of ^Lajor Young, whose object it 
was to capture a company of Canadian Militia posted at St. Regis. The 
attack was successful, and the whole force of the enemy were taken prison- 
ers. The latter occupied a house built of heavy square timber, but 
though they were advantageously situated for defence, made only a feeble 
resistance. Lieutenant Marcy approached the house with a file of meU; 
broke open the door himself at the hazard of his life, and after the gar- 
rison surrendered took from each man his arms. These were the first 
prisoners taken on land during the war. Among the spoils of the ex- 
pedition was the flag of the British company, which was also the first 
standard taken on land. This flag was afterwards presented to Governor 
Tompkins, and is still preserved among the honored trophies of the war 
of 1812. 

He was also with Colonel Pike and his regiment, in the unfortunate 
night expedition, in the month of November, against the British encamp- 
ment on Le CoUe River. 

In 1816 he was appointed Recorder of the City of Troy, from which 
office he was removed in 1818, to give place to a supporter of Governor 
Clinton, whom he had voted for as the republican candidate for Governor, 
but with whose administration he had become dissatisfied, and which he 
had denounced as leaning too much towards the Federalists. In Janu- 
ary, 1821, he received from Governor Yates the appointment of Adjutant- 
General of the New York State Militia; and in February, 1823, he was 
elected by the Legislature Comptroller of the State, to fill the vacancy 
occasioned by the appointment of John Savage to the Supreme Bench. 



WILLIAM L. MARCY, OF NEW YORK. 15 

The duties of this office compelliiiir liis presence at tlie scat of govern- 
ment he removed to Albany, wliere he has since resided, excepting 
whilst eno^aged officially at Washington. In 1829, he was appointed one 
of the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of Naw York, 
but resigned that office on the 31st of January, 1831, at the urgent solici- 
tation of his friends, upon his almost unanimous nomination as Senator 
by a legislative caucus, and on the following day was duly elected to the 
Senate of the United States. 

lie took his seat as Senator in December of that year, and remained 
in the Senate about two years, performing whilst there the duties of 
Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, and those pertaining to a 
Member of the Committee on Finance. 

In 1832, Mr. Marcy was elected Governor of the State of New York, 
over Francis Granger, the Anti-Masonic candidate, by a majority of nearly 
ten thousand. His term as a Senator had not expii'ed at the time of his 
election, but he resigned in season to enter upon his duties as Governor, 
on the first day of January, 1833. In his first message, he ably reviews 
the financial condition of the State, and thus expresses himself in regard 
to its indebtedness : 

"A national debt may be the result of inevitable necessity. The 
efforts which nations are sometimes required to make, to recover their 
civil liberty, or to defend their rights, may involve an expenditure beyond 
their present ability to pay. A debt thus contracted confers no reproach, 
and its payment may be deferred until the people that incurred it, have 
replenished their resources, and become able to sustain the burden of 
discharging it, without withering their prosperity. Such has been the 
oriirin of our national debt, and such has been our course in rerjard to its 
payment. The debt contracted by this State on account of its canals, is 
justified on a difterent principle. The object for which it was incurred 
was specific, and ample means for its speedy redemption were provided 
in the very act which authorized it. It could have in no event been 
forwarded on to a future age, as an encumbrance upon it, to be paid 
by a general tax, without a violation of the most solemn pledges." 

His views respecting the canals are thus given : 

"Tliere is no subject connected with our local affairs that we can con- 
template with so much satisfaction as our works of internal improve- 
ment. The advantages resulting from them are felt in all parts of the 
state, and in the diversified occupations of our citizens. Everywhere 
their beneficial effects are visible, bearing testimony to the wisdom which 
conceived the system, and to the enterprise which put it into practical 
operation. The peculiar formation indicated at an early period to some 
of our enlightened and sagacious citizens, the practicability, as well as 
the usefulness of connecting the great northern and w^estern lakes with 
the Atlantic ocean by means of artificial water conmaunications. The 
enterprise of the present age has most successfully carried into effect the 
grand conceptions of the past. The spirit which prompted us to enter 
upon the system was not, however, wild and reckless ; Avhile it anxiously 
sought the end, it carefully estimated and wisely provided the means for 
its attainment. Though nuich has been done to improve the condition 
of our state, much yet remains to be done. While we allow the success 
which has attended our efforts at home to impel us forward in the career 



16 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

of improvement, we should not be regardless of the less fortunate efforts 
which have resulted from similar enterprises abroad. On the one hand, 
it would be unworthy of the character of the state to pause in this 
career ; on the other, it would'bemore unwise to rush forward in it, accumu- 
lating burdens on the people without securing proportionate advantages." 

Governor Marcy's administration had been so satisfactory that he was 
again nominated for re-election by the Herkimer Convention on the 10th 
of Se|)tember, 1834, and defeated his opponent, Wm. H. Seward, by a 
majority of about thirteen thousand. 

Durino- his second term, in view of the strenuous efforts then beina: 
made by the State of Pennsylvania to divert the trade of the AVest 
through channels of its extensive lines of railroads and canals, Governor 
Marcy strongly urged upon the legislature the enlargement of the Erie 
Canal, but, true to the principles of his former message, he recommended 
that it should only be carried on as rapidly as the surplus revenues aris- 
ing from tolls would permit. 

Governor Marcy was nominated for a third term in 1836 ; and, to show 
his increasing popularity, we may add that he received at this election 
almost thirty thousand votes over the whig candidate, Jesse Buel. 

Mr. ]\Iarcy was the candidate of the democratic party for a fourth 
term in 1838, but owing to causes which it is unnecessary for us to 
detail, he did not obtain his usual success, and Wm. 11. Seward was 
elected governor. 

After the expiration of his term of office, he was appointed by Presi- 
dent Van Buren, one of the commissioners to decide upon the claims of 
the Mexican Government, under the convention of April, 1839. He 
performed the duties of this commission until its expiration in 1842, 
when he returned to Albany. 

Upon the election of Mr. Polk to the Presidency, he tendered to Mr. 
Marcy the post of Secretary at War in his cabinet, which he accepted, 
and the arduous duties of which position he performed with signal 
ability during the late war v.'ith Mexico. It was the administration of 
this office that called forth the practical talents of Mr. Marcy. Upon 
him now devolved the very delicate duty of conducting a war, in regard 
to the prosecution of which Congress was by no means unanimous, — of 
appointing proper officers, and distributing materiel reluctantly granted 
by a divided representation. But his genius overcame all difficulties ; 
and when the gallant generals and brave soldiers of those campaigns are 
named with the honors so justly merited, the services of the able secre- 
tary who watched over and guided their movements should not be for- 
gotten. 

Among the many drawbacks to the development of his plans, was an 
unfortunate feeling which had arisen to his prejudice in the bosoms of 
those gallant generals at the head of the separate columns in Mexico — a 
feeling, unhappily not unusual^ where military men, and those whom they 
consider civilians, come in contact, particularly where the civilian has 
power to enforce his orders : and with General Scott especially, circum- 
stances occurred to aggravate this feeling, forcing him to strictures upon 
the secretary, which doubtless in his calmer moments were regretted. 
Mr. Marcy defended himself with his usual ability, as the following 
extracts from a letter to General Scott will prove : — 



WILLIAM L. MARCY, OF NEW YORK. It 

"By extending ray comments upon your letter, I might multiply proofs 
to show that your accusations against the head of the War Department 
are unjust ; that your complaints are unfounded ; that the designs 
imputed by you to the government to embarrass your operations, impair 
your rightful authority as commander, ami to offer outrage and insult to 
your feelings, are all the mere creations of a distempered fancy; but to 
do more than I have done, would, in my judgment, be a work of super- 
erogation. 

" In conclusion, I may be permitted to say, that as one of the presi- 
dent's advisers, I had ^fidl slvire in the responsibility of the act which 
assigned you to the command of our armies in Mexico. I felt interested, 
even more than naturally appertained to my official position, that success 
and glory should signalize your operations. It was my duty to bring to 
your aid the efficient co-operation of the war department. I never had 
a feeling that did not harmonize with a full and fair discharge of this 
duty. I know it has been faithfully 2^c^'f'J^'^n£d. 

" There are some men for whom enouii'h cannot be done to make them 
grateful, or even just, unless acts of subserviency and personal devoted- 
ness are superadded. From you I expected bare justice, but have been 
disappointed. I liave found 30U my accuser. In my vindication I have 
endeavored to maintain a defensive line, and if I have gone beyond it at 
any time, it has been done to repel unprovoked aggression. To your 
fame I have endeavored to be just. I have been gratified with the many 
occasions I have had to bear public testimony to your abilities and signal 
services as a commander in the field. It has been, and under any change 
in our personal relations, it will continue to be, my purpose to be liberal 
in my appreciation of your distingui>hed military merits. In respect to 
your errors and your faults, though I could not be blind, I regret that 
you have not permitted me to be silent." 

Mr. Marcy was a prominent member of ^Ir. Polk's cabinet, and apart 
from the services intimately connected with his position as secretary of 
war, exerted no small influence upon the other questions which came 
before it. His diplomacy was displayed in the settlement of the Oregon 
boundary. He was an advocate of the tariff of 184G : and always 
advised a strict adherence to the old democratic doctrine of protecting 
the states in all their lights which did not conflict with the federal con- 
stitution. On the slavery question, especially, was he decided thai inter- 
ference was not only pernicious, but unconstitutional. 

In the presidential election of 1848, he supported General Cass; and 
when General Taylor was elected, he retired at the expiration of Mr. 
Polk's term to his home at Albany, where he remained a useful and an 
active citizen, until the election of Mr. Pierce, who tendered him the 
office of secretary of state, which he now fills with such distinguished 
ability. 

Mr. Pierce, in his inaugural, having assumed a position in regard to 
the rights of American citizens abroad, which found a ready response in 
the bosoms of all who claimed protection under our flag, whether native 
or adopted, an opportunity not long since presented itself of testing the 
applicability of his views ; and as the matter came directly under the 
action of the secretary of state, to the diplomatic talents of Mr. Marcy 
may be attributed the couducting of those cabinet measures upon the 



2 



X8 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

protest of Clievalier Hulsemann, in behalf of the Austrian government; 
and to his statesmanship the masterly vindication of President Pierce's 
inaiigui'al, and the conduct of the officers of the American government, 
as displayed in the Koszta correspondence. 

Near the close of the month of July, 1853, Martin Koszta, a Hunga- 
rian by birth, but clothed with the nationality of the United States by a 
previous legal declaration of his intention to become a citizen, was set 
upon by a gang of villains in the port of Smyrna, and finally carried on 
board of an Austrian vessel, where he was detained in irons as a traitor 
to the Austrian government. Mr. Brown, the dragoman of the American 
legation, having become aware of the facts, dii'ected Capt. Ingraham, 
commander of the U. S. ship-of-war St. Louis, to demand the surrender 
of Koszta and to employ force, if necessary, to compel a coiupliance with 
his application. The Austrian legation yielded to the superior power, 
under protest, and upon condition that Koszta should be placed in the cus- 
tody of the French legation, and be delivered up only upon the written 
consent both of the American and Austrian ministers. 

Almost simultaneously with the receipt of this news in the United 
States, Chevalier Hulsemann, Charge of the Austrian Government, ad- 
dressed the Secretary of State a note protesting on behalf of his govern- 
ment against the action of Mr. Brown, and of Capt. Ingraham, and asking 
our government to authorize the surrender of Koszta to the Austrian 
government. 

As the first important measure of public policy vvhicli the present ad- 
ministration has had an opportunity of submitting to the world, this letter 
of Mr. Marcy has naturally attracted very general attention, aside from 
the profound interest felt in the <|Uestion to which it relates. It can well 
bear all the scrutiny to which it may be subjected. It is universally ad- 
mitted to be one of the ablest state papers that ever emanated from 
Washington. It has covered its author and his country with new honor, 
and will inspire the whole civilized world with increased respect for Ameri- 
can statesmanship and the American flag. It has disposed of the Koszta 
controversy. It is conceded to be a perfect vindication of Mr. Brown and 
of Capt. Ingraham as for the oi'ders of the one and their faithful and 
manly execution by the other, and henceforth no one will presume to deny 
that in the Ottoman empire, all who have clothed themselves with the 
nationality of our government, are entitled to and will receive its pro- 
tection. 

As a private citizen Governor Marcy has always been held in high es- 
teem, for his good example in the fulfilment of social duties and oblii^a- 
tions, for his public spirit, and for his generous liberality. 

In person he is rather above the ordinary height; his frame is stout 
and nmscular, but not gross. His forehead is bold and full ; his eyebrows 
heavy ; liis eyes deep-set and expressive ; and his mouth and chin firmly 
moulded. His appearance altogether is calculated to impress a stranger 
favorably, both in respect to his talents and his character. His manners 
are affable and courteous ; free from pretence, yet dignified. His ac- 
(juaintance is really an enjoyment, and he is one of those men to whom 
society is indebted for its charms and attractions. 

He is considered to be a strict party man, but frank and honorable in 
hi 3 political course. He has the reputation of being a shrewd political 



■VriLLIAM L. MARCy, OF NEW YORK. 19 

tactician, and, probably, bas never been suipassed in this respect, by auv 
of the politicians of New York. It has ever been his policy to prev^ent 
the getting up of State issues to interfere •with the success of the demo- 
cratic party of the nation. He is something of an optimist in politics, 
regarding everything as tor the best, never disturbed by reverses, nor un- 
duly elated by good fortune. He is well fitted, too, to rough it, — a desi- 
rable trait in a politician, for he has his dark days as well as sunshine. 

As a writer, lie ranks high. His style is strong, pure, perspicuous, 
and flows with true Addisonian ease and elegance. His state papers are 
admirable compositions of their kind, and, like those of Clarendon and 
Bolingbroke, will be remembered for their intrinsic worth, long after the 
subjects to which they relate have lost their importance. 

Secretary Marcy has been twice married. His first wife was a Miss 
Newell, a descendant of one of the early settlers of Sturbridge ; his 
second was a daughter of the late Benjamin Knower, of the city of Al- 
bany, at one time State Treasurer. 

It would not be easy to find a man who possesses a greater amount of 
general information than Secretary Marcy. He seems to be as familiar 
with every department of science and literature as if his life had been 
spent in their pursuit. His insatiable thirst for knowledge has been con- 
stantly gratified and stimulated by new acquisitions; while an iron con- 
stitution, which has shown itself proof against any amount of intellectual 
exertion, has enabled him to push his researches, without interruption, to 
the present hour. What he thus acquires seems always at perfect com- 
mand. There is no confusion in his knowledge. His mind is like a 
well ordered cabinet, where everything is skilfully arranged and available ; 
where every shell, and gem, and fossil, and mineral, is within reach, either 
for ornament or illustration. 

His memory is very remarkable : it is, perhaps, one of the secrets of his 
strength, as it certainly forms a considerable source of the fascination of 
his conversation. He is a man of vivid impressions. What he hears 
and what he reads, no less than what he sees, seems to be daguerreotyped 
upon his mind, never to fade. He has as clear a conception of the stir- 
ring events which have taken place within the last fifty years, in both 
hemispheres, as if they had passed under his own eye. Persons distin- 
guished in our own history, now long dead, with whom he has had inter- 
course, are as distinctly remembered as if he had parted with them but 
yesterday. Racy anecdotes, illustrative of their characters and of their 
times, and therefore matters of general interest, are told by him with all 
the freshness of a recent occurrence. As with an enchanter's wand, he 
raises the curtain, and exhibits past events, making them, like well exe- 
cuted tableaux, to stand out as present realities. It is on such occasions 
that the regret is often repeated, that he does not employ his gifted pen 
in delineating interesting reminiscences, which will otherwise die with 
him. 

As an extemporaneous speaker, he stands deservedly high. His man- 
ner is calm, deliberate, dignified, graceful, and impressive. The same 
classic elegance and chasteness of language which belong to his written 
opinions, also characterize his extemporaneous addresses. It was a com- 
mon remark, that his language could not be improved, but was ready for 



20 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS- 

tbe press just as it fell from his lips. The autlior remembers one occa 
sion when, under the influence of strong emotion, he spoke for two hours, 
■with a sustained and thiillino-'and masterly eloquence that he has never 
seen surpassed. The smoothly flowing stream had become a torrent, that 
swept on with a resistless momentum. He was cool, cautious, and ready ; 
presenting the strongest points of his client's cause in the most winning 
and advantageous aspects ; and defending, with admirable skill, those 
■which were more assailable. No man could parry belter than he the 
force of an adverse authority, or show greater ingenuity in discriminating 
his case from the one cited against him. 

The writer would do injustice to the subject of this sketch, did he 
neglect to speak particularly of those social qualities, which constitute 
one of the most attractive features of his character. He shines in the 
department of domestic and social life. It is in the unreserved inter- 
course which mutual love and esteem produce, that the charm of his 
conversation is felt by both young and old. It is here that his real 
amiability of disposition finds full play. With a lively and cultivated 
imagination ; a ready, genial wit, which pleases all without Avounding 
any; quickness at repartee ; an inexhaustible fund of anecdote, relating 
to matters and things and persons, within his own recollection ; gi'eat 
general information and power of graphic delineation ; all united with 
the manners and bearing of a thorough gentleman, render him at once 
the ornament, as well as the fiivorite of social life. An evening spent 
■with him, wdien he is in one of his best colloquial moods, is an event to 
be remembered. 

Mr. Marcy is now near the age of three-score years and ten, in posses- 
sion of full bodily and mental vigor ; with an eye as keen and as full of 
fire as in his younger days. He is still actively engaged in the acquisi- 
tion of useful knowledge, and in keeping up with the progress of the age ; 
performing an amount of labor and reading, that many younger men 
would reafard as no inconsiderable task. He looks with ea^er interest 
upon the panorama of this moving world, allowing no item of general ■inte- 
rest in any part of the globe to escape him. 




Kl:;. . ^. s "..^ ilall 




Oc<yp'!-'<.^ '^^^^t-<.^^u'A^'t,'X>C^ 



SECRSr^RT' -rNTTSB ST^STJi'S I'RE^SURy 



JAMES GUTHRIE, 

SECRETAUT OF THE TREASURY. 

James Guthrie, Secretary of the Treasury, was born in Nelson County, 
state of Kentucky, in the year 1793, and is now sixty years of age. 
Though not of Scotch parentage, lie is of Scotch descent, his ancestors 
having emigrated first from Scotland to Ireland, and afterwards to 
this country. Guthrie is a name well and advantageously known in 
Scottish history. It was James Guthrie, a Covenanting ministei' who, 
for his intrepidity as a preacher and writer, was marked foi- a victim, by 
the perfidious government of Charles the Second. He was condemned 
to death as a traitor with no other solemnity than the form of a trial, 
and was soon afterwards executed. He met his death (by decapitation) 
heroically, and from the scaffold exhorted the numerous spectators to 
resist the tyrant and persecutor to the death. Then having done, with 
as much tranquillity as if he had been in his pulpit, he submitted his 
neck to the executioner's axe. His head was placed over a gateway in 
Edinburgh, and was regarded by the persecuted covenanters as an ob- 
ject of peculiar reverence. To him and to such as he was, Scotland 
owes her religious liberty — a debt never to be forgotten. 

Mr. Guthrie's father was General Adam Guthrie, an early pioneer to 
the west from the state of Virginia. He was an active, energetic man, 
and bore a distinguished part in the struggle with the Indians tor that 
flourishing region, now composing six or seven states and numbering five 
or six millions of inhabitants. It was then an unexplored, inhospitable 
Avilderness. AYhat will it be one hundred years hence ? General 
Guthrie, besides beino- enofawd in other conflicts with the Indians, was in 
the battle of the Saline, fought ten or twelve miles west of Shawnee 
town, Illinois, and which was remarkable for the singular manner in 
which it was gained by the whites — bv chai'ging with the tomahawk 
(they had no bayonets) through the Indian line, and after breaking it 
charo-ino; to the rioht and left. In this eno-agement. General William 
Hardin, the commander of the expedition, was seriously wounded. 

Peace being made with the Indians, General Guthrie turned his atten- 
tion wholly to civil pursuits, and became so far a politician as to repre- 
sent his county in the Kentucky Legislature eight or ten years, to the en- 
tire satisfaction of his constituents and of his fellow citizens in general. 
He was a man of strong practical sense, and was much esteemed for that, 
as well as for the fidelity with which he adhered to friendships formed in 
the hour of trial and danger. 

James Guthrie was educated principally at McAlister's Academy at 
Bardstown in Nelson county, an institution which was at that day one 
of the best to be found in the western country. The head of it was a 
Scotchman, and by no means an ordinary man. He was distinguished 
for his general attainments and for his extensive mathematical knowledge, 
and esteemed and beloved for the nrbanitv of his manners, and the benevo- 
lence of his disposition. Havino- completed his academical course, Mr. 



22 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Guthrie, as it was then common for active and adventurous young men 
to do, engaged in the Mississippi trade, purchasing the produce of his 
neighborhood, and descending the river with it in that grotesque-looking 
and forgotten craft, called a Flat. Whilst engaged in this pursuit he 
thrice visited New Orleans, returning home on horseback or on foot, 
through the Indian country ; to do wliich was no small undertaking, as it 
required both mental resolution and physical strength. There were great 
pedestrians engaged in that trade in those days, whose feats of walking 
were even then marvellous, and in these more soft and silken times almost 
incredible. There were men who performed, on foot, the land journey of 
eight or nine hundred miles, sooner than it could be accomplished by any 
horseman ; and as many as thirty such journeys have been performed by a 
single individual. 

Finding the business of a river trader a very laborious and hazardous one, 
and not very remunerative, Mr. Guthrie abandoned it and returned to the 
study of the law, which he liad once before commenced and now resumed, 
after an intermission of a year or two, under the instruction of the late 
Judge Rowan, a profound jurist and eloquent advocate. The judge was 
an able man, who v/on his way to })olitical and forensic distinction by hi& 
talents, tact, and energy. He was often a member of the Legislature of 
his own state, and v/as six years a Senator of the United States. 

Mr. Guthrie was at this period a severe student — retired and taciturn — • 
not mingling with society in its pleasure, or feeding his mind upon the 
idle and transient topics of gossip too often discussed in circles of the 
young and giddy — but in laboiious study over the works of the sages of 
the law. He criticisised, assimilated, and digested the matter of his read- 
ing, until he made it his own. He knew that it was only in the study 
of the law as a science that its symmetry could be discerned, and its 
adaptation to its ends fully appreciated ; and that he who is a mere case 
lawyer, is driven at every turn to resort to his books, could neither illus- 
trate its great principles, nor apply them with skill to the multiform 
cases that arise in practice. 

In 1820, Mr. Guthrie established himself as a practitioner of law in the 
town, now city, of Louisville, and soon became eminent in his profession. 
He possessed the qualities and qualifications that command success, and 
he commanded it. With a vigorous intellect, much legal knowledge, 
and great industry, he secured in a very short time a large share of the 
most lucrative practice. No man ever approached him as a client who 
did not want a strictly conscientious adviser or advocate. He never 
gave " forked counsel," and always regarded the law. not as a trade full 
of trickery and tergiversation, but as a noble science, the professors of 
which ought, in their professional capacity, to be as spotless as the ermine 
of that justice whose guardians and administrators they are. By his 
practice he acquired in a few years means enough, when under the manage- 
ment of his prudence and discernment, to lay the foundation of a large 
fortune, which he did, not by what are called " lucky hits," and which 
are no more than fortunate accidents — for he is no visionary or reckless 
speculator — but by judicious investments in real estate in and around 
Louisville, the future greatly enhanced value of which he clearly foresaw, 
aad much more distinctly than many others who occupied themselves 
entirely in speculation. 



JAMES GUTHRIE, OF KENTUCKY. 23 

Though assiduously devoted to his profession, Mr. Guthrie found 
time to participate in the political questions by which the state of Ken- 
tucky was so portentously agitated for some seven or eight years, dating 
from about the year 1821. Party animosity scarcely ever before ran so 
high in this country, and the exasperation and violence could hardly have 
been greater, stopping short of civil war. This state of things grew out 
of what were called the relief measures, adopted by the legislature — 
stay and replevin laws, in connexion with the commonwealth's bank, 
and the reorganization of the court of appeals. Mr. Guthrie was 
opposed in principle to any interference of the legislature in a question 
between debtor and creditor, but believing that it had the unquestionable 
power to remodel its judicature, he was on the side of the new court 
against the old, and was one of the ablest and most adroit defenders of the 
cause he espoused. The old court party finally succeeded, but their 
success did not settle definitively any of the questions at is5iue. What 
seemed to be a final adjustment of them was but an adjournment, for 
they may, under a parity of circumstances, be again asserted and again 
contended for by another generation on the same arena. 

Of all those relief measures the commonwealth's bank was perhaps 
the boldest experiment, and was as successful as it was bold. Nothing 
of the kind has ever been attempted in this country and been so success- 
fully carried through. Three millions of paper dollars were put into circu- 
lation without any metallic basis whatever, and with no capital except the 
public faith ; and after doing good service to the country, saving thou- 
sands of debtors from ruin, and inaterially aiding to support the govern- 
ment of the state, the whole was in few years called in, cancelled, and 
destroyed. It is doubtful whether such a public-financial achievement 
could be again accomplished in Kentucky, or in any other country. Ten 
mjllions of dollars would be no more for that state now than three mil- 
lions were then, but certainly no statesman of that commonwealth would 
be willing to see so large a sum emitted except upon a specie basis large 
enough to constitute a reasonable guarantee for its final redemption. 

Mr. Guthrie has often represented the city of Louisville and the county 
of Jefferson in the legislature of his own state, first in the lower house 
and afterwards in the senate, and he has been almost always elected with 
a majority against him, with respect to political opinion ; but such was 
the confidence reposed in his ability and integrity, and in his zeal for 
the general good, that many of his opponents preferred him to candidates 
from among their own party. This was a high compliment, and in his 
case a most deserved one. Ln the legislature he was generally chairman 
of the judiciary committee, and he discharged his duties as such with 
great industry and intelligence. He rarely ever proposed a measure re- 
specting the state tribunals which was not sanctioned, for he never pro- 
posed anything that was not a manifest amelioration. Though fiir from 
being a loquacious member, he was not by any means a silent one, but 
spoke frequently for or against propositions as they came up, and spoke 
always clearly, forcibly, and convincingly. He is not in the slightest de- 
gree what Hazlitt says Canning was — " a mere fluent sophist," or what 
Goldsmith said of Burke, addicted to " refining," and to "cutting blocks 
■with a razor." His speeches were all to the purpose, and whilst they 
were lucid and perspicuous, were not much embellished by the mere 

VOL. III. 15 



24 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

graces ami polish of elocution. Tliey needed no such embelHshmeni 
Mr, Guthrie's aim was to be clear, brief, logical, and precise, without much 
regarding rhetorical ornament and appliances. He was not considered 
a great orator, but was looked upon as being something much more 
useful and influential in a deliberative body — a great debater and great 
business man, and was for that reason always listened to with the most 
profound attention by all parties. 

It has been frequently asked : " Why has not Mr. Guthrie had a 
greater reputation out of his own state T' A very short sentence will 
fully answer the question. He has no political ambition. Often has he 
been solicited, nay, importuned, to become a candidate for the guberna- 
torial chair of the state, and for Congress, and as often has he positively 
declined the invitation. Without doubt he might have been in the 
councils of the nation, where the same qualities which have made him 
eminent at home would have secured him distinction in a more elevated 
position. His fondness for politics begins and ends in his patriotism. He 
covets no fame, no office, nor the emoluments of office. He has not 
been a seeker after popularity, and all he has enjoyed has been of 
the kind which Lord Mansfield said was alone worth having — that 
which follows and is not sought. He is zealous and untiring in the ad- 
vocacy of sound political principles, but from choice has limited his 
sphere of action to his own county and state. From 1825 to the pi-esent 
day, he has been what many would call a Jackson democrat, and a most 
active, influential, and efficient one. To his exertions his party is much 
indebted for the formidable and imposing front the Democrats have al- 
ways presented to their antagonists in Kentucky, although almost con- 
stantly in the minority ; and though he has left the state temj^orarily, it 
is not likely that his example and his eftbrts will be forgotten. He will 
not now interfere in the state politics ; but his past labors will not be lost, 
for many choice spirits still remain to imitate and to emulate his devoted- 
ness and disinterestedness. 

In the formation of his Cabinet, President Pierce wished to place at the 
head of the Treasury a man of tried principles, and of acknowledged 
qualifications. Such a man was Mr. Guthrie ; but yet upon a question or 
two of national policy, his sentiments were not quite as familiar to the 
President as the latter wished ; not that there was anything covert or 
ambiguous about Mr. Guthrie with respect to his opinions, but what was 
perfectly well known in Kentucky was not so well known in New Hamp- 
shire ; and for that reason he was indirectly interrogated upon those points. 
His answer was characteristic — brief, pointed, and unequivocal. Instead 
of treating the subject ditlVisely, and writing a dissertation, he did but 
little more than refer, for full information, to the speeches he had made 
in the Kentucky Convention which formed a new constitution for that 
state, some three or four years ago, and of which body he was the 
President. But so little value did he seem to place upon his parliamen- 
tary labors that he had not preserved even a copy of those speeches, and 
merely said, they would be found in the debates of that Convention. 
These speeches furnished the information desired by the President, and 
added greatly to his reputation as a statesman and debater. In that 
body ho not only performed the duties of presiding officer in a most 
Signified and satisfactory manner, but was at the same time sn active, 



KEXTUCKV. 25 

onliflitened, and influential member, whose opinions upon every impor- 
tant point were eagerly listened to and ;ilmost invariably adopted. 

]t mav be said, and cannot be contradicted, that as Secretary of the 
Treasury no one has ever had the charge of that l^epartinent, who has 
brought more industry, integrity, and ability to the performance of his 
duties than Mr. Guthrie ; and no Seci'etary, in so shoit a time, ever juoi-o 
completelv mastered the details of the otlice or made hi)iiself more inti- 
matelv acquainted with the fiscal and commercial system of the country. 
Strict economy, a strict adherence to the laws, and strict accountability, 
form the basis of his administrative system, aud should he remain in 
office until the 4th of Marcdi, 1857, and meet with that cooperation and 
support which it may be contidently assumed he will, the fiscal affairs 
of the country \m11 be in a condition to challenge the admiration, as 
thev will excite the envy, of all the governments of Europe; for a tri- 
umph will have been achieved by the " great republic'' more glorious than 
the winning of a dozen battles, if not so dazzling. The 4th of March, 
ISS*?, will be the second time within the memory of inan, when a heavy 
public debt will have been entirely paid off, and the nation once more 
relieved from that very equivocal " national blessing," a national debt. 
Then we shall have no pecuniary liabilities, a full treasury, and imj^osts 
that will not be much more than nominal, and will move on with accele- 
rated speed in our career of prosperity and progress. 

The character of Mr. Guthrie's mind is eminently inductive and ana- 
lytical ; there is nothing about it startling or electrical. Slow and cau- 
tious, even to fastidiousness, in his premises, he reaches his conclusions 
with the iriost painstaking accuracy, llis " faiu-y is tame," and it mixj 
be truly said of it, that it "waits upon the judgment." He never con- 
tents himself with brilliant analogies, so apt to captivate the undisciplined 
mind. For himself he digs into the mine of truth, and makes no account 
of the reputation often gained by a mei-e brokerage in the precious ore. 
He recognises no authority but that which carries with it its own inhe- 
rent sanction. He measures the shoals and depths of his subject with 
the line and plummet of reason, and if ever man was, is willing to follow 
her behests, " uncaring consequences." 

As a speaker, he is impassioned, with a warmth of earnest conviction 
felt by himself, and desired to be instilled into his auditors. He employs 
no ornaments of speech, but few anecdotes, indulges in no play of fancy, 
and never aims to direct his hearers from his subject to himself or his 
style. His speech is direct, earnest, and for a result — addressed more to 
the understanding than the passions. His earnestness and self-convic- 
tion, his steady array and disciplined precision of thought, with his fre- 
quent recurrence to great and familiar principles, aud their application, 
all combined, effect all that the most eloquent could accomplish. 

In addition to liis qualifications as an advocate, he has a clear and 
instinctive perception, and appreciation of the universal principles of jus- 
tice and right ; and as an equity lawyer, has few equals. Throughout 
his entire professional career, he has ever manifested a singular devotion 
to the interests of his clients. He always made their cause his own when 
founded in justice, and lent the whole energies of his mind to sustain it. 
He enjoyed the uidimited confidence of all who have sought his services, 
aad his sincerity and integrity were never even the subject of suspicion 



26 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

or distrust. The poor, when oppressed, or deprived of a right, have never 
appealed to him without meeting with sympathy and aid ; and he has 
freely bestowed, not only his time and professional services, but often 
advanced liis money to assist a feeble and helpless client. Indeed, 
this class of his business has always been remarkably large, yet it has 
been cheerfully performed, and usually attended with most gratifying 
success. 

In all his varied fortunes, lie lias never seemed for one moment to for- 
get the associates of his early life. His sympathies are with the ^^eqp/e, 
who have been his fast and unyielding friends, and have ever been his 
chief reliance in all the sterner trials of his life. They have clung to 
him in every period of his fortunes, with a devotion that no circum- 
stances could weaken, nor adversity overcome. Ever ready to aid them 
with his counsel, his advice, his sympathy, and assistance, he has found 
in them in return, on all occasions where their etibrts were required to 
sustain him in the discharge of his public duties, a support upon which 
he has relied with unfailing confidence, and to which he never made an 
appeal in vain. Regardless of mere wealth and empty distinction, he 
seldom sought the aid or association of those whose energies were exclu- 
sively devoted to the accumulation of I'iches, and never had the fortune 
to count this class in the ranks of his ardent personal friends. He was 
drawn instinctively into communion with those whose lot it is to toil, en- 
dure, and suffer, and found his chief enjoyment in the society of those 
honest and humble men, who in the seclusion of private life remained 
free from the corruptions of wealth, and the debasing tendencies of un- 
scrupulous personal ambition. 

A great and leading trait of his character is a benevolence of feeling. 
From the first hour (jf his prosperity, he has freely shared the avails of 
his labors with his kindred, many of whom required the aid of some 
friendly hand to raise them from the same condition of poverty and toil 
in which his own lot was cast, and scarcely a day passes by but some 
friend is permitted to share his bounty. 

The great element in his success has been an iron will and unyielding 
perseverance. In the darkest hour of his life, when adversity pressed 
most heavily upon him, lie never for a moment gave way to despair, or 
relaxed tlie energies of his ardent and hopeful nature. He commenced 
the great battle of life resolved to conquer and overcome, and the results 
he has been able to accomplish, over the opposing forces that beset him, 
show how well and how wisely he has maintained the contest. 

In his history, no man can ftxil to find encouragement. The most for- 
midable obstacles yield to the force of a steady determination, and often 
when least expected, the resolute heart finds in the lessons of its own 
experience, the truth of that beautiful Irish expression, " there is a silver 
lining to every doudr 

The tendency of his duties and studies has been to purify, and elevate, 
and strengthen the moral sense ; and to inspire respect and reverence for 
those immutable moral principles, which are essential to the welfare of 
man and the peace of society. Purity of life, in every relation, is of 
prime importance in the character of a public man. Without it, genius, 
learning, wit, eloquence, and cultivation, are worse than in vain. They 
add only to the length of tlie lever by which vice dissolves the fabric of 



JAMES aUTIIUIE, OF KENTUCKY, 2T 

individual character and social wvlfaro. And we conceive it to be the 
highest eiilogium we can bestow upon Mr. Guthrie, to say that he is a 
pure man. 

A scliolar he is, and a ripe one, too, but he is not a learned man in 
the common acceptation of the phrase. He has dropped the speculative 
sciences long- since, and given his mind only to those practical pursuits 
which in a country like ours are so much more useful. His quick ]ier- 
ceptions make him a man of true sagacity ; his ardent temperament has 
given uncommon energy to his character, and his clear reason has 
purified his tastes, and made his judgment, though certainly not infallible, 
yet in the main altogether reliable. 

r>ut the strong hold he has on the afiections of his friends, is better 
accounted for by his attractive social and moral qualities. The unselfish 
and generous impulses of his nature do not permit him to serve any one 
by halves, and yet his opponents have never had cause to complain that 
his demeanor towards them was wanting either in justice or in courtes}-. 
Sincerity, that first of virtues, is the characteristic trait of his mind. His 
whole conduct is full of transparent truthfulness. His speeches are 
marked with a sort of daring plainness. Concealment of his opinions, 
whatever may be the effect of their utterance ujwn himself or others, 
seems with him to be out of the question. 

His heart's liis mouth. 
Wliat his breast forges, thai his tongue must vent, 
lie would not flatter Keptune for his trident, 
Or Jove for his power to thunder. 

It may be that Mr. Guthrie will retire, after the close of the present 
administration, to private life. At all events, it is impossible now to pre- 
dict whether hio-her honors await him or not. But no matter what may 
be his future career, he has already earned the title of an able lawyer, an 
incorruptible public servant, and an honest man. Of such a cliaracter it 
is fit that the dignity should be vindicated and the value made known. 

As a father our subject is most affectionate and devoted. His 
family constitute an object most dear to his heart; anil a desire to ad- 
vance the happiness and comfort of his two daughteis is a paramount 
feeling. When not forced abroad in the dischai'ge of public duties, his 
own fireside forms the point of attraction, where he can always be found. 
With a warm heart and generous impulses, he is the centre of a circle 
of devoted friends. His social qualities are very great. Possessed of fine 
colloquial powers, he never fails to make himself both instructive and 
interesting as a companion ; and always dignified in deportment, yet he 
is easy of access, and especially affable to the young. 

In closing this brief memoir, the remark seems to be called for, that 
the incidents which it records, may not be altogether useless as pre- 
senting for consideration the notice of one who, in defiance of seemingly 
adverse circumstances in early life, has risen to stations of official promi- 
nence and responsibility. Our country, under the benign influence of 
her admirable republican institutions, has furnished many such instances ; 
and it is certainly meet that all such should have an enduring record, if 
for no other purpose than to encourage others, under similar disadvan- 



2g SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICAKS. 

tages, to >tiu£;o-Ie manfully and hopefully with the difficulties wliicli they 
are called to encounter. 

Here ends this brief notice of Mr. Guthrie, which cannot be very satis- 
factory to those who are desirous of knowing- much about the able and 
energetic head of the Treasury Department. To write anything like a 
minute biographical notice of him would require more time and space 
than can now be given to the subject; and such a notice would comprise 
in a great measure a political and forensic history of the State of Ken- 
tucky for the last quarter of a century. 




^„. 



)(QB-ir4Vy, 



OF 2^UjX-: .- i^^itJiOUIf^ . 
SSCRETARYOF TEE UNITED STATES ITATT . 



Srwmve^ibrBwariwhzcaZ'SJceh^ies of Emmffi/> ^Tmrica^LS . 



HON JAMES C. DOBBIN 

SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, 

Is a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, and the eldest child of 
John M. and Ahness C. Dobbhi. He was born in 1814, and named 
after his maternal grandfather, James Cochrane, who represented the 
Orange district in Congress during the war of 1812. 

His father, John M. Dobbin, was a merchant in Fayetteville dm-ing 
a period of thirty years, and died in 1837, universally regretted. 

At an early age the subject of this memoir was sent to school in his 
native town, where he rapidly acquired the rudiments of a classical 
education. Afterwards he was sent by his father to the school of Mr. 
W. J. Bingham, in Hillsboro', N. C, where he was prepared for col- 
lege. In 1828 he entered the freshman class of the University of 
North Carolina, when he was about fourteen years old. 

At the University he was distinguished for a prompt and faithful dis- 
charge of eveiy duty imposed upon him, as also lor a ready and cheer- 
ful observance of all the rules and regulations of that institution. He 
was considerably the youngest memlier in his class, and for four years 
manfully sustained himself and boldly took his stand among the fore- 
most in that honorable field of rivalry, and in 1832 graduated with high 
distinction in the same class with Hon. Thomas L. Clingman, John 
H. Haughton and Thomas S. Ashe, Esquires, and other distinguished 
gentlemen. Throughout his entire college course Mr. Dobbin was a 
universal favorite with the students and faculty at Chapel Hill, and so 
far had his amiable traits of character won upon the affections of the 
venerable president. Dr. Caldwell, that he has been heard to say in the 
bosom of his family : " It would gladden his heart to be the father of 
such a son as James C. Dobbin." 

After graduating, Mr. Dobbin commenced the study of law in the 
office of the Hon. Robert Strange, at that time one of the judges who pre- 
sided on the Superior Court Bench, in North Carolina, and under his 
guidance and instruction, devoted two and a half years to the mastery 
of that science which has been denominated the " perfection of reason." 

During a portion of the time that Mr. Dobbin read law with Judge 
Strange he was also an inmate of his house and a member of his fami- 
!y, and thus possessed the advantage of the judge's oral instruction 
during leisure hours, and also laid the foundation of that reciprocal 
aflection and esteem that have so increased upon them until long since 
the distinctions of teacher and pupil have passed away, or rather have 
been merged in those of fond companions and bosom friends. 

In 1835, Mr. Dobbin, having read well and closely Coke on Little- 
ton, Blackstone's Commentaries, Chitty's Pleading, Starkie on Evi- 
dence, and such other books as his preceptor had prescribed, and hav- 
ing now attained his majority, he applied for and obtained his license 
to practise law. He immediately opened a law office in Fayetteville, 
N. C, and most assiduously devoted himself to a strict and regular at- 
tendance at it. During oflice hours, whether clients came or not, he 

VOL. VI 5 



30 SKETCHES OF EMIXEiNT AMERICANS. 

was always in nis office, and this regularity of custom in a short time 
had considerable influence upon his professional success. 

Mr. Dobbin did not, as too many young lawyers do, select an ex- 
tensive circuit in the outset, but wisely husbanded his time and eneroirs 
for a faithful discharge of chamber business in Fayetteville, and in 
attendance upon the County and Superior Courts of Cumberland, Robe- 
son and Sampson. His theory was and still is, " Let a man luiild up 
a reputation at home, let it radiate and precede him rather than that 
he should precede it." Upon this theory he has always acted, and 
every extension of his circuit has more resembled a triumph tlian an 
effort to succeed. 

The first capital case in which Mr. Dobbin appeared was, where one 
negro man was indicted in Cumberland Superior Court, in 1837, for 
the murder of another negro. He had the honor to be associated in 
the defence, with the Hon. Robert Strange, who had just been elected 
U. S. Senator, and had resigned his seat upon the bench. In the man- 
agement of the defence, Mr. Dobbin displayed great subtlety and inge- 
nuity, and in his arguments to the jury, gave evidence of those jiecu- 
liar talents that have since ranked him with the most successful and 
ablest criminal advocates in North Carolina. Throughout the range of 
our acquaintance we know of no lawyer's history that is more instruc- 
tive and encouraging to young members of the profession than that of 
Mr. Dobbin. No accidental circumstance occurred by which he 
seized on fame by a single effort. No one case can be cited as that 
which made the man. On the contrary, his practice and reputation 
have daily increased by a faithful and able discharge of duty. In his 
early career, too, " he was content to labor and to wait," and Udt 
ashamed to learn from such luminaries as Toomer Eccles, Strange and 
Henry, who were the leaders at the Fayetteville bar at the time of his 
admission, but with whom he was so shortly to contend. 

He was frequently desired to represent his native county — Cumber- 
land — in the state legislature, but this honor he invariably declined, 
alleging that he was happy and contented in the discharge of his profes- 
sional duties, and conceived that he experienced more real joy in the 
bosom of his family than he could ever expect from the excitement of 
political life. To this determination he adhered until 1845, when tlie 
democratic party nominated him as a candidate to represent them in 
Congress, from the Raleigh district. The nomination was unsought 
and unexpected, and taking into account his youth, his retired life, the 
district, and the able men who resided in it, he could not regard it as 
otherwise than an extremely flattering testimonial of the high estima- 
tion in which he was held, and af\er some hesitation he accepted the 
nomination, and entered upon the campaign. His competitor was his 
old class-mate, John H. Haughton, Esq., an able and talented whig. 
At the close of the campaign, however, Mr. Dobbin was ascertained to 
be elected by a majority of two thousand votes, whilst in the previou.« 
campaign his democratic predecessor had only beaten his whig rival 
about three hundred A'^otes. 

At the commencement of the 29th Congress, Mr. Dobbin was pre- 
sent and had the honor to be placed upon the committee on contested 
elections, and took a very active part in all its deliberations and reports. 



JAMES C. DOBBIX, OF NORTH CAROLINA. yl 

In the contested election from Florida, between Cabell and Brocken- 
broiigh, Mr. Dobbin was of opinion Cabell was not entitled to his 
seat, and so voted. 

In the New-Jersey contested election between Runk and Farlee, 
he was chairman of the majority committee, and submitted its report. 
In this case he was active and zealous, and labored hard to have the 
cause terminated at an early day. For having satisfied himself that 
nineteen of the students at the college in New-Jersey had a right to vote, 
he was anxious that justice should be done, by declaring that Farlee, 
democrat, was not entitled to his seat, but that Runk, the whig 
member, was — and his view of the case was tinally sustained by a 
majority of the House. 

On the Oregon question Mr. Dobbin spoke. He thought the lime 
" for masterly inactivity " had gone by, and he was in favor of serv- 
ing a notice on Great Britain to terminate the joint tenancy. 

On the public land bill, then before Congress, he delivered an able 
and eloquent speech. He rose above party trammels, and said, " I am 
opposed to the policy of ceding these lands to the states in which they 
lie''^ — that neither justice nor any other consideration of sound policy re- 
quired it, and appealed to gentlemen to strike that feature from the bill. 
In this speech he advocated the necessity of striking from the sta- 
tute book the tariff act of 1842, and after an elaborate argument, tend- 
ing to prove that it taxed every other branch of industry, for the sole 
purpose of enriching the manufacturer, he proceeded to enforce his 
positions by a reference to the conduct of England, in the following 
beautiful and characteristic remarks : 

" Mr. Chairman, it has fallen to our lot to become actors on the 
theatre of public life at a most remarkable era in the history of the 
world. The human mind, evincing its mighty and mysterious capa- 
bilities, is achieving triumphs at once wonderful and sublime. The 
elements of nature are playthings for it to sport with. Earth, ocean, 
air, lightning, yield subservient in the hands of genius, to minister to 
the wants, the purposes, and the pleasures of man. Science is fast 
developing to the meanest capacity the hidden secrets of nature, 
hitherto unexplored in the researches of philosophy. Education is 
exerting its mild and refining influences to elevate and bless the people. 
The control of electricity is astonishing the world. The power of 
steam is annihilating distance, and making remote cities and towns 
and strangers at once neighbors and friends. Amid these mighty 
movements in the fields of science, literature, and philosophy, the 
liberal spirit of free government, in its steady and onward progress, is 
beginning to accomplish much for the amelioration of the condition of 
the human family, so long the hope of the statesman and the philanthro- 
pist. The illiberal maxims of bad government — too long supported from 
false reverence for their antiquity — are beginning to give place to the 
enlightened suggestions of experience. England, the birthplace, is 
proposing to become the grave, of commercial restriction. In that 
land, whose political doctrines are so often the theme of our denun- 
ciation and satire, with all the artillery of landed aristocracy, asso 
ciated wealth, and party vindictiveness leveled at him, there has 
appeared on the stage a learned, a leading premier, Sir Robert Peel, 



^-^ SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

who, blending in his character much of the philosophy of Burke, ihe 
bold and matchless eloquence of Chatham, and the patriotism of 
Hampden, has had the moral courage and magnanimity to proclaim 
that he can no longer resist the convictions of experience and obser- 
vation, and that the system of commercial restriction and high protec- 
tion is wrong, oppressive, and should be abandoned. Already, sir, 
has much been done ; already has the British tariff, so long pleaded 
as the excuse for ours, been radically reformed, and in obedience to 
the persevering demand of an outraged people, we hope that the next 
gale that crosses the Atlantic will come laden with the glorious 
tidings of a still greater triumph in the repeal of the corn laws, so 
oppressive to Englishmen and injurious to Americans. 

" And shall we not reciprocate this liberal spirit ? Shall republican 
America, so boastful of her greatness and freedom, be outstripped 
in her career in this cause of human rights by monarchical England •' 
No, sir — I do not, cannot, and will not believe it. I have an abiding, 
unshaken faith in the ultimate triumph of so righteous a cause. Mr. 
Chairman, we may surpass the nations of the earth in science, in 
arms, and in arts ; the genius of our people may attract the admiration 
of mankind — may cause 'beauty and symmetry to live on canvas' 
— may almost make the ' marble from the quarry to breathe and 
apeak ' — may charm the world with elegant attainments in poetry 
and learning — but much, very much will be unaccomplished; the 
beauty of our political escutcheon will still be marred while com- 
merce is trammeled, and agriculture and trade depressed by bad 
legislation." 

At the close of the session he returned to Fayetteville and prose- 
cuted his legal pursuits with energy and zeal. 

On the meeting of Congress, he was again in attendance, and on 
the " three million" bill he delivered a speech, which in its range 
embraced the " Mexican war," the " Wilmot Proviso," and the •' ex- 
tension of slave territory," that attracted the attention of the whole 
country, and ranked Mr. Dobbin among the ablest debaters in con- 
gress. 

From this speech, which was much praised at the time as an able 
vindication of southern rights and interests upon constitutional grounds, 
and in a national spirit, we take the liberty of selecting, at random, 
some detached passages, as illustrative of his power of investing the 
most obstruse subjects with a gracelul and peculiar charm. 
" Mr. Dobbin next addressed the committee as follows : 
" Mr. Chairman, — I do not rise upon this occasion for the purpose 
of republishing another edition of the history of the Mexican war. Its 
origin, its rise, and its progress, are familiar to the humblest cottager 
of the country as well as the most active politician in the capital. 
The fame of those gallant soldiers who fought and achieved the bril- 
liant victories of Monterey and Resaca de la Palma, has crossed the 
confines of our own republic, and has elicited the applause and admi- 
ration of the mightiest powers on earth. 

" But, Mr. Chairman, there is a war of recent origin, upon the origin, 
the rise, and the progress of which, I do propose to make some re- 
marks this morning : I mean the war recently waged upon the repu- 



JAMES C. DOBBIN, OF NORTH CAROLINA. i)3 

tation, the constitutional rights and domestic institutions of the southern 
states. 

" Before 1 proceed, then, Mr. Chairman, to reply to the arguments 
used by these gentlemen, I take the liberty of doing what I regret 
these gentlemen did not do, of making, at least, a respectful allusion to 
the constitution. I have always thought, sir, it was the pride and 
boast of Americans that we not only lived in the enjoyment of the 
blessings of a free government, but that our rights, our property, and 
happiness, are protected by a written constitution, which we are all 
taught to regard as sacred and inviolable ; a constitution written by 
the sa7ne hands that had just wielded the sword in the cause of hmiian 
freedom ; a constitution dictated by hearts burning with an ardent 
love of liberty, and just released from the thraldom of tyranny. And 
when a wise legislator — one who appreciates his responsibility as a 
representative, and his rights as a citizen — is invited into a new field 
of legislation, he turns to the pages of the constitution to learn whether 
he has the constitutional right to act, before he proceeds to the sub- 
ordinate considerations of policy and expediency. And, sir, if there 
ever was a question which should call into exercise all our self- 
control, all our wisdom, aU our patriotism, and a strict adherence to 
the constitution, it is this question of shivery — this dangerous rock 
upon which wise and good men have gloomily foreboded that our ship 
of state would one day be wrecked, and the world be called sadly to 
gaze upon the sundered and bleeding fragments of our once glorious 
and happy Union. 

" But if we are true upon this occasion to ourselves — true to that 
constitution, the sheet-anchor of our safety — this storm-cloud that now 
darkens our political horizon, and threatens to break in its fury and 
scatter desolation and dismay through our wide-spread republic, will 
pass off in harmless silence, and leave behind it a clearer sky and a 
more genial sunshine. vSir, however exalted may be the patriotism, 
however honest the motives, however disinterested the philanthropy, 
of the gentlemen who have originated this scheme, I do not hesitate, 
here in my place, upon the solemn responsibilities of a man and a re- 
presentative, to contend that, in my opinion, it violates that written 
constitution which we have sworn to support ; that it is pregnant with 
mischief to the peace and harmony, and, in the estimation of many 
wise men, with the ultimate destruction of this Union. 

" Mr. Chairman, I do not propose to declaim about this, but to dis- 
cuss it. I scorn to indulge in crimination and recrimination ; and ex- 
citing as this topic is, I still indulge the belief that there is good 
sense enough left — that there is patriotism enough lei"t in this house, to 
enable us ' to reason together' about it, and to remember that this is 
not a noisy debating society, gotten up for amusement, but the House 
of Representatives of a great and proud republic. Sir, I distinctly 
lake the position that slaves are recognized as property under our con- 
stitution ; that in that constitution safeguards to protect this peculiar pro- 
perty are expressly contained ; and that without the incorporation of these 
.'■ajeguards this glorious Union could not have been consummated. This 
'^"ederal Government exists under the constitution ; it derives all its 
ccwer from the constitution ; it must be administeiTed by rules prescribed 



S4 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS, 

solely ly that constitution, and possesses no powers but thoss ' ex- 
pressly delegated to it.' And I contend, sir, that any act of Congress 
which prohibits the citizens of the southern states from carrying 
their slave property with them into territory the common property of 
the United States, violates most palpably the faith and compromises of 
the constitution ; is unwarranted by any clause contained in that instru- 
ment ; is sectional, unequal, oppressive ; because, while it announces 
to the citizens of one section of the Union that they may go and enjoy 
this territory with all their property, in the same breath it notifies the 
citizens of another section, if they go and settle there, they must leave 
their slave property behind them, m which property they have invested 
millions of money under the sacred guarantees of the constitution. 

" Gentlemen say that the South is dwarfed ; that her energies are 
depressed, her moral character injured, and the days of her glory past. 
Well, the South, the slaveholding South, gave you Washington, ' the 
father of his country' — ' first in Avar, first in peace, and first in the 
hearts of his countrymen.' The South gave you Jefferson, the au- 
thor of the Declaration of Independence, from which the gentleman 
from Ohio quoted. Did Mr. Jefferson suppose, when he said that ' all 
men are created equal,' that this would ever be tortured to support the 
doctrine that slaves should not be held, when it is known that Mr. Jef- 
ferson, who wrote this instrument, was a slaveholder himself all his 
life, and died a slaveholder 1 And Mr. Madison, ' the father of the 
constitution,' was a slaveholder. 

" But gentlemen say we are degenerate. In what, sir, are Ave so 
degenerate ? In morals ? — in patriotism ? — in enterprise ? No, sir, 
no. If in olden times we gave you a Washington — the man who car- 
ried us through the Revolutionary Avar — have we not, in later days, 
given you a Jackson, who led our forces with equal valor and success 
in the last Avar ? And yet gentlemen say that we are fallen, and that 
our prosperity is gone ! Sir, there is a measure that has oppressed 
us — the tariff law — Avhich has compelled us to bear heavy burdens for 
the benefit of the northern and eastern sections of the country. I ap- 
peal to the gentlemen of the NorthAvest, who have stood shoulder to 
shoulder Avith the South in the battle of free trade. That victory is 
consummated, and the farmer of the West, as well as the planter of 
the South, are noAV rejoicing under its operation, and basking in its 
sunshine. I know the patriotism of the Northwest. She has not been 
appealed to in vain in the cause of commercial freedom, and now she 
will again favorably respond in the cause of constitutional right. I 
appeal to the young State of Iowa, which has just come into the 
Union ; — let not her first act be a stab at the constitution. And I 
knoAv I shall not appeal in vain. I appeal to the patriotism of all. I 
appeal to the North to remember the spirit which animated their an- 
cestors, and their feeling of devotion to the principles of justice and 
the Union, which Ave seek to carry out now. I appeal to the patriot- 
ism of this house. Now, Avhen our constellation of liberty is shedding 
Its bright eflulgence throughout the Avorld, let it not be dimmed by 
dividing the cluster. If it be possible let the Federal Union be pre- 
served. Let sectional prejudices be banished from this hall. Let us 
embark in a generous rivalry to do most in compromising, and compro- 



JAMES C. DOBBIN, OF NORTH CAROLINA. 35 

mising forever, and settling forever, this peace-disturbing, this Union- 
endangering question. But, sir, on this question the South will main- 
tain her rights — let that be understood — and these insidious attempts to 
crush them will be rebuked." 

Having served the term for which he was elected, Mr. Dobbin re- 
turned home, announced that he was not a candidate for re-election, 
and again betook himself to his profession. His efforts in Congress 
gave very general satisfaction to his party, and on his return to the bar, 
his practice was increased rather than diminished. 

Mr. Dobbin has devoted some portion of his leisure to literary pur- 
suits. In 1836 he delivered an address before the Fayetteville Ly- 
ceum, which is replete with bright gems and lofty sentiments, and was 
noticed by E. J. Hale, Esq., in his ably conducted paper, The Fayette- 
ville Observer, in the following complimentary terms : 

" To say that we were pleased with the lecture delivered by James 
C. Dobbin, before the Fayetteville Lyceum, would but feebly express 
our own and the feelings of the large audience who attended on that 
occasion. To a style flowing, easy and graceful, he united an origin- 
ality and brilliancy of thought, and enunciation clear and distinct, re- 
markable for one so young, and giving promise of a future bright fame 
in the path of his profession, and in that of literature, whose sweets he 
portrayed in such eloquent language." 

We have frequently heard Mr. Dobbin express a high appreciation of 
this beautifully expressed compliment, as one which he recurs to even 
now with sincere but melancholy pleasure, as it was the only public 
compliment that his father lived to hear paid him, and one which he 
had reason to know his father appreciated highly during the brief re- 
mainder of a life then near its close. 

In 1840 he delivered an address before the Franklin Library So- 
ciety, which added to his reputation as an elegant writer and finished 
orator. On the death of James K. Polk, at the request of the citizens 
of Fayetteville, he delivered his eulogy. 

In June, 1850, he was selected to deliver the annual address before 
the two literary societies of the University of North Carolina, at Chapel 
Hill. This address was published at the request of the Philanthropic 
Society, of which he was a member, and is evidently the emanation of 
a mind deeply imbued with the bright and beautiful as spread out in 
nature itself, and as transcribed and reflected in the glowing pages of 
the great masters of literature. 

The allusion to the lamented Judge Gaston, and the address which 
he delivered at the time Mr. Dobbin graduated, is ingeniously done, 
and forms the introduction to his own address, and gives him an op- 
portunity of bearing testimony to the trutlT of Mr. Gaston's teaching, 
in the following beautiful language : 

" Not many years ago it was my lot to form one of the restless 
throng of college youth, who, with buoyant hopes and eager expecta- 
tion, sat as anxious listeners, and drank in with general confidence 
and affectionate admiration, those moral lessons, those encouraging 
maxims, those warning admonitions, so eloquently, so impressively ad- 
dressed to us, by the great, the good, and the lamented Gaston. Well 
do I remember that look of earnest and heartfelt sincerity, with which 



36 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

that venerable man sought to teach us, that ' happiness as well as great- 
ness, enjoyment as well as renown, have no friends so sure as integrity, 
diligence, and independence ;' that ' we are not placed here to waste 
our days in wanton riot or inglorious ease, with appetites perpetually 
gratified and never palled, exempted from all care and solicitude, with 
life ever fresh and joys ever new.' Well do I remember (and may 
none of us ever forget) that thrilling, heart-moving burst of patriotic 
eloquence with which he held up to our gaze the gloomy picture of a 
Union dissolved — the sundered, bleeding limbs of a once gigantic body, 
instinct with life and health and vigor ; his proud exultation that ' still 
we are great, glorious, united and free ;' his touching appeal to the 
youth then before him, that surely ' such a country and such a consti- 
tution have claims which cannot be disregarded.' That eloquent les- 
son is now familiar to you all, and a student would blush not to know 
it by heart. That beloved statesman is now beneath the sod. His 
state mourns his loss, and his memory will ever be cherished by all 
who appreciate virtue, love excellence, and admire learning. He spoke 
the experience of one who had nearly completed the journey of life, 
and had himself played no humble part in the race of honorable am- 
bition. 

" He who noio comes at your bidding, hath made but little way in 
his pilgrimage, and might well be content to return, from the dust and 
bustle and turmoil of a thus far busy life, for the first time, to his Alma 
Mater — this starting point in the journey — and assure you who have 
kindly invited him, and who are now panting to enter on " life's fitful 
course," that thus far he hath found the maxims of that lamented states- 
man to be founded in true wisdom — that 'Integrity' is the crowning 
virtue — that 'Labor is not more the duty than the blessing of man' — 
that our beloved country does present to ' the eyes, the hopes, and 
gratitude of man, a picture as lovely and brilliant,' as he painted it in 
his loftiest declamation. And well might I now add, that country now 
— more that ever now — challenges all your wisdom, all your virtue, all 
your patriotism, to uphold and maintain it ; to save it from the angry 
strifes of the impetvoiis and the rash — the mischievous machinations 
of the ambitious and the scljish — the reckless madness of misguided 
fanaticism." 

He then proceeds to discuss the " exalted pleasures of cultivated 
taste, and the exquisite enjoyments" of him who can luxuriate in the 
green pastures, and amid the fragrant flowers of elegant literature." In 
the midst of his address he makes the following beautiful allusion to 
President Polk: 

" Time was when a striplmg youth was seen here on this same hill, 
struggling with his compeers for the modest prize of the college honors. 
Stern morality tempered his ambition ; diligence bore him through in 
triumph ; parental smiles and greeting friends cheered him as he 
was decked with the university honors. Time passed on. A vast 
multitude throng the eastern portico of the capitol of the republic. 
Fashion and wealth, the curious and the gay, the great men and wise 
of the land are there. For a moment solemn stillness pervades that 
assembly ; then the air is rent with the shouts of rejoicing ; for a great 
people have just placed upon the brows of a statesman the highest 



JAMES C. DOBBIN, OF NORTH CAROLINA. 37 

honors of the proudest republic on earth ! Let the aspiring student 
learn and be encouraged by the interesting, truth, that that statesman 
was the stripling boy, who began by winning his first honors at the 
University of North Carolina, and ended by wearing that of a mighty 
republic." 

He next proceeds to address the graduating class, and endeavors 
to impress upon their minds love of country, and a true appreciation of 
the inestimable value of the Union, in the following language : 

" And what a country too is that in which your lot is cast, that makes 
us all glory in the name of American citizens — that makes us all so 
proud of the past, so proud of the present, so hopeful of the ' shadowy 
future !' Poetic imagination is overtasked in the eftbrt to picture its 
real grandeur«r; so changeful the scene, so rapid the transition, so won- 
derful its strides from infant weakness to giant manhood ! Once a 
mighty wilderness, a continent of unquelled forests, the home of the 
fierce savage and the howling panther ; now a beautiful land of cul- 
tivated fields, and filled with statesmen, orators, and philosophers 1 
Once a modest flag, adorned with thirteen stars, affixed to a flagstatT 
planted between the mountains and the Atlantic, waved over three 
millions of American freemen ; now a broad ensign, bearing on its 
ample folds, not thirteen, but thirty stars, nailed to a flagstaff", planted, 
not on the narrow confines between the mountains and the Atlantic, 
but on the mountains, on the valleys of the Atlantic and the Pacific, 
and the great gulf of the south — affording protection not to three but 
to twenty millions of free citizens of an " ocean-bound republic !" Of 
other lands poetic prophecy reveals only sad visions of decay and 
downfall. British genius hath already written of our father land — 

" ' England, like Greece, shall fall despoiled, defaced, 

And weep, the Tadmor of the watery waste. 

The wave shall mock her lone and manless shore, 

The deep shall know her freighted wealth no more; 

And unborn wanderers in the future wood. 

Where London stands, shall ask where London stood.' 

" But if American sons prove worthy of American sires ; — if educa- 
tion be truly the protectress of liberty ; — if time and Christianity, in- 
stead of elevating and blessing, have not debased man — yours is the 
land whose future grandeur and magnificence will continue to baffle 
the conceptions of the wildest imagination. We read in sacred history, 
that for the preservation of the human family, Noah was seen con- 
structing an ark. The fancy of the gifted Headley has graphically 
painted the scene, — that as the huge edifice went up, ' The farmer re- 
turned at evening from his field, and the gay citizen of the town drove 
past and christened it ' Noah's Folly,' and the workmen upon it laughed 
as they drove the nails and hewed the plank. But when the terrible 
storm came — upborne on the flood, the heaven-protected ark rose above 
the buried cities and mountains, and floated away on the shoreless 
deep. And when the deluge was stayed, with its inmates unharmed, 
it at last safely reposed on the summit of the sacred mountain Ararat.' 
We read too in profane history that time was when our Washington 
was seen constructing a political, a republican ark, for the final pro- 
tection of human liberty. When with his sage compeers he was rear- 



38 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

ing the novel edifice, and constructing it of rafters and beams of re- 
publican simplicity and popular freedom, titled nobility and ribboned 
pride in other lands mocked and smiled at it as unfit for the storms that 
would surely assail it. But this far, under the blessings of Providence, 
amid the terrible events that ever and anon have crushed the rights of 
man elsewhere — amid angry stoi'ms and the wildest billows of party 
rage — upborne on the flood, our heaven-protected ark of freedom still 
floats on, and amid the tempests at their darkest hour there has still 
continued to stream from it a steady light to cheer and gladden and 
encourage. And when that most terrific of tempests shall come — 
(which may God in his mercy avert!) — when domestic fanaticism or 
party rage shall triumph — when the voice of patriotism shall for a mo- 
ment be hushed amid the hoarse clamor of discordant factions — when 
the flood of fraternal strife and sectional hostility shall for a moment 
deluge the land — still may we not cling to the hope of the father of 
his country, that when it shall please heaven to stay the storm, our 
ark may also find its sacred resting-place, and that may be on the glori- 
ous Union of the States." 

In the summer of 1848, Mr. Dobbin was importuned to become a 
candidate for the House of Commons, in the Legislature of North 
Carolina. He was elected, and on his first appearance in the house 
was put in nomination as the democratic candidate for speaker, in 
opposition to that sterling whig, Robert B. Gilliam, Esq., of Gran- 
ville county. For three days the balloting was continued without 
an election, so nearly was the house divided. On the fourth day, 
Mr. Dobbin authorized his friend Daniel W. Courto, Esq., of Rock- 
ingham, to withdraw his name from before the body, whereupon 
Mr. Gilliam was elected, and the house soon after organized. Mr. 
Dobbin was placed upon the judiciary committee and took a promi- 
nent part in all its deliberations, as well as a distinguished part in 
the discussion of all the important matters before the house. At this 
session of the legislature, the philanthropist Miss Dix memorialized 
that body to erect an asylum for the insane. The memorial was 
referred to a select committee, of which John W. Ellis, Esq., of 
Rowan, was chairman, and through him a bill was reported to the 
house, favorable to the prayer of the memorialist. In the mean time 
Mr. Ellis was elected one of the judges of the Superior Court, and 
forthwith resigned his seat in the legislature. Some days after, the 
Hon. Kenneth Rayner moved that the bill introduced by Mr. Ellis 
on the subject of the asylum, be taken up, and that one hundred 
thousand dollars be appropriated for its erection. This motion Mr. 
Rayner seconded in a speech of great power, eloquence and beauty ; 
but the motion was negatived by a vote, ayes 44, noes 66, under 
circumstances which induced the belief the bill could not pass. The 
amiable and beloved wife of Mr. Dobbin, a day or two before Mr. 
Rayner spoke, had just been committed to her mother earth, and he 
was not in attendance on the house. Miss Dix, anxious for the fate 
of the bill, and having confidence in Mr. Dobbin's influence and power 
before the legislature, had him waited upon, and reminded of his wife'' s 
request that he would advocate and support that measure. The appeal 
could not be withstood and he promised to try on the coming day. 



JAMES C. DOBBIN, OF NORTH CAROLINA. 39 

When the house met, Mr. Dobbin was present. The bill had been 
reconsidered on the previous day, and was pending on a motion to 
appropriate $25,000. This amount Mr. Dobbin moved to strike out, 
and proposed as a substitute a plan to impose a tax that in I'our 
years would raise the sum of $85,000 ; and in the advocacy of the 
measure he delivered one of the most eloquent, thrilling and heart- 
touching speeches that was ever delivered in the capitol of North 
Carolina. On resuming his seat, the bill passed its second reading 
by a vote of 101 ayes to 10 noes. The rules were immediately 
suspended, on motion of the Hon. Edward Stanley, that the bill might 
be put upon its third reading, which it passed by a vote of 91 to 9, 
and nearly every one of the nine assigned some special reason why 
he had not voted in the affirmative. The Raleigh Register, a whig 
paper, in alluding to Mr. Dobbin's speech upon the asylum bill, says : 
" The speech of Mr. Dobbin, in favor of the bill, was one of the most 
touchingly beautiful efforts that we have ever heard. Its noble and 
eloquent conception, impressive delivery, and the circumsl;ances 
which prompted and attended it, all combined to render it truly worthy 
the occasion." 

Another leading whig paper, the Fayctteville Observer, says, 
•' There vv^ere few dry eyes in the large assembly of members and 
audience during Mr. Dobbin's speech." 

At the same session of the legislature, the Central Rail-road bill 
was introduced, which proposed that North Carolina should subscribe 
two million dollars towards completing the scheme. The fate of the 
bill was for a long time doubtful. The route proposed was not cal- 
culated directly to benefit Mr. Dobbin's county, and many contended 
the road would materially injure his constituents. Mr. Dobbin listen- 
ed for a while to all that could be said for and against the measure — 
discarded strictly sectional legislation as detrimental even to the 
interests of those counties that apparently received no benefit, and 
finally gave vent to his liberal and patriotic sentiments in a speech of 
great power and beauty, in which he declared that the glory, the 
honor, and prosperity of his native state, were matters of far higher 
importance in his estimation, than any political distinction that could 
await him, and whatever the result might be upon his destiny, he 
was prepared to abide it, rather than that his beloved state — a pat- 
tern to others for the practice of honesty and integrity, and all the 
comely virtues which the nation felt proud of, should be pointed at 
as a state that slept whilst her younger sisters labored — a state 
that retrograded whilst others prospered and became a lure to tempt 
our children to forsake the homesteads of their fathers and the state 
of their nativity. The bill passed, and the Register, in alluding to 
Mr. Dobbin's effort in its behalf, says, " Mr. Dobbin was frequently 
applauded by the members in spite of the chairman's eflbrts to pre- 
serve decorum. Indeed, a man must be stoically indifl'erent to the 
welfare of his state, not to be moved by such eloquent appeals." 

The influence of Mr. Dobbin in the legislature was strongly exem- 
plified in the fate of a bill which he superintended in the house for the 
benefit of his immediate constituents. It was a bill for the erection of a 
plank road from Fayette ville to Salisbury. It was the first plank road 



40 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

vrojected m North Carolina, or indeed in any southern state ; and wher 
Mr. Dobbin asked for an appropriation of $80,000 from the state to 
aid in its completion, the members smiled, and voted the proposition 
down. On a future day he had the bill reconsidered, and substituted 
$120,000 for $80,000, and after elucidating the subject, and contend- 
ing tliat it would be a profitable investment on the part of the state, 
the bill passed ; and every assertion made by Mr. Dobbin has been 
more than realized, the state having made a net profit thus far of 
$2,647 37, from the fact that the dividends and premiums on the state 
bonds have exceeded the amount of interest paid on the investment. 
The result now is, that plank roads are looked upon with universal fa 
vor throughout North Carolina, and in all the other southern states. 
At this session of the legislature we believe Mr. Dobbin could have at 
tained a seat upon the Superior Court bench, in supply of one of the 
two vacancies that existed, but it is imderstood he declined being put 
in nomination, preferring to practise at the bar, rather than to preside 
on the bench, the more especially as his practice yields a much larger 
revenue than the salary of a judge. Mr. Dobbin was returned to the 
next session of the legislature, and on the first ballot was elected speaker 
of the House of Commons. The debates were strong and violent, but 
the impartial, mild and dignified bearing of the speaker commanded 
respect, and his call to order, in a voice peculiarly clear and distinct, 
invariably had the desired eflect. 

As a legal adviser Mr. Dobbin is remarkably cautious in comino to 
conclusions, is a soimd lawyer and safe counsellor. He seldom gives 
an ofl-hand opinion, and generally consults authorities before he ven- 
tures to advise. But this once done, he is firm in his position, and in- 
variably sustains himself with an ability that generally commands suc- 
cess. In North Carolina we have more learned jurists than James C. 
Dobbin, but in the combined character of lawyer and advocate he has 
few superiors in the state. In the management of his causes before a 
jury, he excels in an eminent degree. Sometimes he addresses them in 
a plain, simple, colloquial strain, which is best described under the ap- 
pellation of 'd. free and easy chat, during which a perfect understanding 
between him and the jury seems to be established. This done, he 
rises as the occasion demands, and leads his hearers from point to 
paint with a directness and clearness that leaves them no room to 
mistake his aim. If the cause demands a lengthy argument it is in- 
terspersed with episodes of a pleasant and agreeable character, that 
rarely fail to interest and please. The character of Mr. Dobbin's 
eloquence is somewhat ditficult to describe. It is always calm, mild, 
insinuating and persuasive, resembling usually the gentle rivulet more 
than the mountain torrent, until some passing incident suggests a 
bright thought or beautiful figure ; suddenly the scene is changed, the 
inspiration of the moment lends a new charm to all he says — ihe 
bright conceptions of his mind are clothed in drapery the most chaste 
and beautiful, and whilst his clear but mellow voice discourses music 
to the ear, the susceptibilities of his own nature are roused into lively 
action, and find a ready sympathy in the tender feelings of the heart. 

By this rare combination of gifts he is enabled to please, .win, 
captivate and affect the heart, and convince the judgment, and is 



JAMES C. DOBBIN, OF NORTH CAROLINA. 41 

almost irresistible before a jury when the issue is life or deatli. An- 
other element of Mr. Dobbin's success may be traced to his skill in 
the exaininatioa of a witness, whether he is for or against his client, 
and the peculiar tact which he possesses in the management of the 
most minute circumstance that may exist in his cause. We may be 
mistaken in our attempt to disclose the elements of Mr. Dobbin's 
success. IJe that as it may, the fact is indisputable, no man of his 
age in North Carolina has been so successful in the management ot 
capital criminal causes. It is now a rare thing for a felon to be tried 
on his circuit, but that he is employed for the defence. We have 
heard him prosecute, and have listened to his efforts, even then with 
delight, l)ut have always thought that he labored as if under some 
restraint, and have fancied that the difference between his defence 
and prosecution was as the difference between the song of a sweet 
warbler in the free and open air, and the same bird attempting to sing 
when imprisoned within a fowler's cage. We cannot better give an 
estimate of Mr. Dobbin's eloquence, in his moments of happy inspira- 
tion, than by a reference to the part he bore in the late national demo- 
cratic convention in Baltimore. Forty-eight ballots had been cast, 
and apparently the nomination of a candidate for President was as far 
distant as ever, and the wildest excitement prevailed throughout the 
vast assemblage. For ten successive ballotings the name of Franklin 
Pierce had fallen still-born upon the convention, as Virginia on the 
.37th, and Maine and New-Hampshire and Virginia on the 38th 
ballot, and so on to the 48th inclusive, had voted for Mr. Pierce. 
Still no enthusiasm was yet created in his behalf, and no other states 
seemed ready to wheel into line. On the 49th ballot. North Carolina 
had determined to cast her vote for Franklin Pierce, and James C. 
Dobbin was about to give it. It was not in his nature, at such a time, 
to cast a silent vote. He felt that the wild and conflicting elements 
needed but a master-mind to grasp and wield them to a new candi- 
date. He made the attempt, and in a burst of eloquence swept the 
convention to the flood, which led to Pierce's nomination. Even the 
Virginia papers award to Mr. Dobbin the high credit we have just 
assigned to him. The Norfolk Argus says, " The efiect of Mr. Dob- 
bin's speech M^as magical. Georgia followed North Carolina, then 
came Alabama, and then state after state in rapid succession, until 
283 votes were recorded for the brave son of the granite state, and in 
the twinkling of an eye all was sunshine and enthusiasm, where but 
an instant before clouds had cast their shadovvs." And a correspondent 
of the same paper says : " You are right in according to the Hon. J. 
C. Dobbin, of Fayetteville, N. C, the honor of creating the 'magical 
effect' which carried the nomination of General Pierce as with a 
Avhirhvind." And the Southside Democrat, published in Petersburgh, 
satisfied that Virginia had the honor of flrst voting for Mr. Pierce, 
says, " It was the Hon. James C. Dobbin, of Fayetteville, N. C, who 
announced the vote of North Carolina, and at the same time spoke in 
favor of Gen. Pierce's nomination. This speech of Mr. Dobbin was 
decidedly the best speech made in the convention. It was made at a 
critical moment, it was exactly to the purpose, it was eloquent and 
stirring. In our ooinion it contributed more to the nomination of Gen 



42 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Pierce llian all olhrr causes comhined. It excited an enthusiasm for 
him which spread like fire throughout the southern delegation." 

In the private walks of life Mr. Dobbin is beloved and held in high 
estimation by all who know him, and possesses the confidence and 
aireclioiis of a large number of friends and admirers. In his habits he 
is somewhat retired, and seems to prefer the family circle, and its 
joys and ]iloasure.s, more than the amusements of fashionable Hie. 
Mr. Dobi)in, in 1838, married Louisa, daughter of the late Gabriel 
Holmes, of New-Hanover. He has for a number of years been a 
consistent member of the Presbyterian church. He is yet a young 
man, but one on whom the hopes of many in North Carolina are cen- 
tred, as one who will adorn any station — as one who, if spared, will 
add lustre to the virtues which already characterize and distinguish 
the Old North State. 

Note. — Sincn this sketch was written, Mr. D. has served another session in the 
legishiturc, and been appointed Secretary of the Navy ; of the impression made 
by his appointment, and the reception it has met from the press and people, we 
need say nothinir. Men of all parties endorse the sagacity of the President in 
the selection he has made. — J. L. 




JiD.^-i by ii:t. a^ci 




SECS^TyiRY' OT WAB. . 



J^Tiy'd' for Jiu}^afi7uca^ Slfce/chss of ^BmmenJ^ ^^Tneru:<ins. 



JEFFERSON DAVIS, 

SECRETARY OF WAR. 

Colonel Jefferson Davis, the subject of this memoir, is a native 
of Kentucky. During infancy, his father removed to the Territory of 
Mississippi, now AVilkinson county. Young Davis, after an academic 
course at home, entered Transylvania College, Kentucky, where he 
remained until his appointment as cadet, and was sent to the United 
States Military Academy at West Point in 1842. 

In June, 1828, he graduated at that institution, was appointed a brevet 
second Lieutenant, and served as an infantry and statt" officer upon the 
Northern frontier until 1833, exhibiting such ability that he was then 
promoted to a first lieutenancy in the new regiment of Dragoons. He 
served throuo-hout the celebrated " Black Hawk war" in the North \Yest, 
doing efficient service, often being detailed upon important and danger- 
ous duties. During this campaign, the celebrated Indian chief, Black 
Hawk, was captured, and while in captivity he formed an attachment 
for the gallant young Lieutenant that only ceased with the life of that 
brave Indian. From 1833 to 1835 he served on the Western fi'ontier, 
and was engaged in the expedition against the Camanches and Pawnees, 
which first penetrated their mountain fastnesses, and reduced them to the 
necessity of sueing for a treaty of peace. 

In 1835 he resigned his commission, and returned to Mississippi, re- 
suming civil life in the peaceful occupation of a cotton planter, — employing 
his leisure hours in the prosecution of those studies, a tliorough knowledge 
of which has since enabled him to take an enviable stand among the 
statesmen and practically scientific men of the day. Thus engaged, 

" Far from the madding crowd'' s ignoble strife" 

he remained but little known beyond his immediate neighborhood, until 
1843, when he emerged into public life, taking an active part in behalf 
of the democracy of his state, making such an impression upon the peo- 
ple, that in 1844 they chose him Presidential elector for the state at 
large, on the "Polk and Dallas" ticket. In November, 1845, he was 
elected congressional representative, in which capacity he remained until 
July, 1846, when, although absent from his state attending Congress, he 
was unanimously elected their Colonel by the celebrated first regiment 
of Mississippi volunteers, then enlisting for the war with Mexico. Upon 
notification of this, he immediately resigned his seat in Congress, and 
after procuring for his regiment, against much opposition and prejudice, 
the arms since so celebrated, and known from the eft'ective use his men 
made of them, as the " Mississippi Rifles," he hastened to join his men 
at New Orleans, en route for the seat of war, and soon reinforced General 
Taylor upon the Rio Grande. 

It would far exceed the limits of this memoir to give even a resume of 
the part which he, with his gallant Mississippians, took in that memorable 
campaign. Suffice it to say that he won for himself a memorable name 



44 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

at Monterey and Buena Vista, — the part that he took in the latter vic- 
tory being such that he is now familiarly known by the sobriquet of 
« Buena Vista." 

The late General Taylor, in his dispatch of March 6th, 1847, with 
characteristic brevity, says : " The Mississippi riflemen, under Col. Davis, 
were highly conspicuous for their gallantry and steadiness, and sustained 
throughout the engagement th-e reputation of veteran troops. Brought 
into action against an immensely superior force, they maintained them- 
selves for a long time unsupported, and with heavy loss, and held an 
important part in the field until reinforced. Col. Davis, though severely 
wounded, remained in the saddle until the close of the action. His clis- 
tinyuishrd coolness and gallantry at the head of his regiment on this day 
entitle him to the 2>articular notice of the government.^'' 

At the expiration of the term of enlistment of his regiment, he was or- 
dered home with the mere handful that was left of his gallant men ; and 
while in New Orleans, he received from President Polk a commission as 
Brigadier General of volunteers. Considering this an invasion of the 
rights of the States — a power usurped by Congress and by them vested 
in the President — and a violation of that provision of the Constitution 
which reserves to the States respectively the appointment of the officers 
of the militia, he consistently declined the tempting oft'er, and continued 
his homeward journey by the Mississippi river to enjoy domestic quiet, 
and recover of a wound received at Buena Vista which threatened to maim 
him for life. 

His progress homeward was a continuous triumphal procession. 

In 1847 he received an Executive appointment as United States Sena- 
tor to fill a vacancy, and at the ensuing session of the State Legislature, 
was unanimously elected to the same post for the next six years. 

The following incident, which is said to have occurred while he was a 
member of the House, will serve to illustrate the high promise of states- 
manship exhibited by him in his first speech before that body. 

It was the habit of ex-President John Q. Adams, then in the House 
of Representatives, to closely observe new members, always seating 
himself near when they were about making their Parliamentary debut, 
eyeing them and listening attentively — sitting out their speech if 
it pleased him, but soon leaving if it did not. When Colonel iJavis had 
arisen for the fii'st time on the floor, Mr. Adams, as usual, took a seat near 
him, and was soon absorbed in close attention. Those who knew this 
habit of the " old man eloquent," soon perceived that the new member 
had impressed him deeply. He sat until the conclusion of the speech 
— his attention riveted upon the orator ; and then arose, and crossing 
over to some of his friends, remarked, " That young man, gentlemen, is 
no ordinary man. He will make his mark yet, mind me." 

While in the Senate, he was chairman of the committee on military 
afiairs, rendering, by reason of his thorough acquaintance with its busi- 
ness, efficient service to that branch of the government he now adminis- 
ters so ably. Being a Southerner, a Jeftersonian State's Rights man, and 
a believer in the " right of instruction," he took an active part in the 
debates of the day upon the slavery questions, advocating the rights of the 
States and of the South so ably as at once to place himself in the front 
rank of the Democratic leaders. 



JEFFERSON DAVIS, OF MISSISSIPPI. 45 

In September, 1851, after the withdrawal of General Quitman as can- 
didate for Governor of Mississippi, Colonel Davis accepted a call of the 
democracy to fill the vacant caiididacy, and at once resigned his seat in 
the Senate from a principle entertained by him that the public had a 
right to indicate his post of duty, and that no citizen should be a candi- 
date for one office while holding another. Although he became a candi- 
date only some four or five weeks before the election took place, and 
was suftering from severe illness during that time, while his opponent had 
been stumping the State for several months before the Colonel's an- 
nouncement of his acceptance, and continued to do so zealously to the 
last day of the canvass : still, by the popularity of his name alone, Mr. 
Davis reduced the majority that the opposition had shown at the " Con- 
vention election," two months previous, of some 7,500 to only 999. Had 
the election been but a week or two later, or had he been able to take 
the stump, it is both demonstrated by the figures, and admitted by his 
opponents, that he would have triumphed. 

He remained upon his plantation, Briarfield, content in the quiet of 
his fiimily, only leaving home to advocate, in his own State, Louisiana, 
and Tennessee, the election of General Pierce, until his appointment as 
Secretary of War, the post he now holds with so much credit to the 
choice of the President, and advantage to that arm of the Government. 

In stature, Colonel Davis is of medium size, slender and straight : his 
habits active, energetic, and assiduous ; his carriage dignified and mili- 
tary. His manners are aftable, courteous, and frank; his passions — slow 
to work — are deep and lasting, his friendships and enmities being equally 
hearty. His mind is active ; his judgment strong ; his perceptions clear; 
his reflection deep, and his acquirements thorough and extensive. 

In politics, he is a Jeftersonian and a strict constructionist. As a pub- 
lic man, he has ever acted upon his cardinal principle, that no one should 
seek office ; or, having become a public man, decline to serve the people 
in whatever capacity they should desire his services ; that having become 
a public man, he is, so long as he remains such, a servant of the people, 
and, as such, should permit them, rather than himself, to choose in what 
capacity he should act. 

A stranger would at once say of Mr. Davis, that he was a clear, strong- 
headed, common-sense man ; cautious and wary in taking his premises, 
certain and irresistible in his conclusions from them. This is the secret 
of his success in life — he never commits a folly. It is to his pi-actical 
sagacity, in a great measure, that he is indebted for his success. No art 
of his adversary can draw him into collateral or immaterial issues ; he 
selects the best ground, and wages his battle there. Although his ac- 
quaintance with books is large, yet he makes no unnecessary display of 
learning. As a speaker, Mr. Davis is earnest and fluent — his language, 
though never ornate, is always vigorous ; and it may safely be said that 
he never uses two words where one will answer his purpose. 

We should be glad to add to our notice of him as a public man, from 
the materials at hand, a few of those incidents which reveal so accu- 
rately the personal traits of his character ; but the design of our work 
will limit us. As a private citizen, he is no less entitled to praise than 
as a faithful public officer; it is the perfect private citizen who makes 
the perfect public man. 



id SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

His success in life has been the result of his own exertions, and not of 
that good luck which the world (little understanding what the word im- 
ports) so often ascribes to those who rise unaided to distinction. No man 
knew better how to time his eflforts ; and while he never wasted his force 
on worthless and unattainable objects, he well knew when to take advan- 
tage of opportunities — and when once he decided, no man pursued his 
object with more fearlessness or energy. Free from all intolerance of 
spirit, he yet never ftuls to show his scorn of falsehood or meanness. 
"Without ostentation, either in his manners or style of life, he always 
maintains the air and polish of a gentleman, and lives surrounded by all 
the elegance and refinements which are the type of a well disciplined 
taste. 

We commend his example to the young men of our countrj" who yearn 
for honor and reward. There is a noble field in our great Republic, 
where our institutions not only guarantee the freest competition, but 
invite it. 




Jmgfijyi'^itaifm. 



CALEB GUSHING, 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, 

Is well known tlirougliout the United States as a tlistinguislied politician 
and eminent scholar. Mr. Cushino- was born in Salisbury, Essex Countv, 
Massachusetts, in January, 1800, and consequently is now in his fifty- 
fourth year. His father, belonging to one of the most respectable old 
families of Massachusetts, was extensively engaged in the shipping busi- 
ness, by which he acquired a handsome fortune. Caleb Cushing entered 
Harvard College when very young, and graduated in the eighteenth year 
of his age. He commenced the study of the law at Cambridge, and 
was appointed tutor of mathematics and natural philosophy in Harvard 
College, which place he held for two years, and then removed to New- 
buryport, to engage in the practice of law. In his profession he was 
very successful, and acquired the reputation of a good lawyer. The 
political career of Mr. Cushing commenced in 1825, when he was chosen 
a representative from Newburyport to the lower house of the Massachu- 
setts Legislature. In 1826, he was elected a member of the State Senate. 
Both these places he filled with ability, and to the satisfaction of his con- 
stituents. After this he continued in the practice of the law for two 
years ; and in 1829 he went to Europe on a tour of pleasure and observation. 
On his return, he prepared for the press and published his " Reminiscences 
of Spain," a work which added much to his literary reputation. He also 
appeared as the author of a "Historical and Political Review of the 
Revolution in France," in 1830. About the same time he was a con- 
tributor to the North American Review, writing mainly on historical and 
legal subjects. Mr. Cushing was again elected to tlie Massachusetts 
Legislature in 1833 and 1834. He made several unsuct^essful runs for 
Congress, but was finally elected to represent the North Essex District in 
1835. His congressional career continued for four consecutive terms, or 
eight yeai-s, viz: from 1835 to 1843. Having commenced public life as 
a friend of John Quincy Adams, Mr. Cushing acted with the whig party, 
both in the State Legislature and in Congress, until the administration 
of John Tyler, when he was one of the few whigs who ventured to sus- 
tain the course of that president in abandoning his political friends. The 
consequence to Mr. Cushing was his separation from the whig party, and 
eventually his connexion with the democratic party for the last ten 
years. 

As a member of Congress he evinced decided ability, and his speeches 
and reports showed in the most favorable light his statesmanlike quahfi- 
cation. In 1843, President Tyler nominated Mr. Cushing as one of his 
cabinet, but the Senate refused to confirm the nomination, owing to his 
political course and the peculiar position of parties at the time. There- 
upon the president nominated him as commissioner to China, and the 
Senate assented to the appointment. He left the United States in the 
summer of 1843, and proceeded to China by the Mediterranean and 
overland route. In 1844, he negotiated a treaty with the Chinese govern- 
ment, establishing, for the first time, diplomatic relations between the two 



4H ) SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

countries, lie returned to the United States by way of Mexico, having 
accomplished the important business of his mission, and passed around 
the globe within the short period of a year. On his return home, Mr. 
Cushing made a visit to Minnesota Territory, as was supposed for the 
purpose of taking up his residence there. lie, however, returned to 
Newburyport in 1846, and was again elected to represent that town in 
the legislature. In that body he was the most prominent member at the 
session of 1847, when the Mexican war was at its height. He acted 
with the democratic members in advocating the policy of that war, and 
for appropriating $20,000 for equipping the Massachusetts Regiment of 
Volunteers, at the expense of the State. When this proposition was 
defeated, Mr. Cushing advanced the money from his own means, and the 
regiment was made ready for service. 

He was chosen colonel of the regiment, and accompanied it to the 
Rio Grande, in Mexico, in the spring of 1847, being attached to the 
army under command of General Taylor. Soon after his arrival in the 
Mexican territory, he was appointed a Brigadier General in the United 
States army, and several regiments of volunteers were placed under his 
command. Hostilities having ceased on the northern line, General 
Gushing being anxious for more active service, was, at his own request, 
transfeiTed to" the army of General Scott. It was not, however, his 
fortune to be engaged in any of the brilliant actions of the war ; and after 
various services as a commandant at San Angel and other places, he 
returned home on the restoration of peace. In 1847, while he was in 
Mexico, General Cushing was nominated by the democrats of Massachu- 
setts as their candidate for governor. This movement was owing to the 
part lie had taken in support of the war, and was done without consul- 
tation with him. It doubtless greatly improved his position with the 
democratic party in the State and nation, and the increased, though of 
course, unsuccessful vote given to him, compared with the democratic 
vote of the previous year, was flattering to General Cushing, and his 
friends who had urged the nomination. In 1848, General Cushing was 
a zealous laborer in behalf of the election of General Cass, acting on all 
occasions with the union democrats and against the free soil [)arty. In 
1850, he was, for the fifth time, elected a member of the legislature from 
Newburyport, and was active in that body in opposing the coalition of 
the democrats with the free soil party, which caused the election of 
Charles Sumner to the United States Senate. In 1851, the office of 
Attorney General of Massachusetts was oiiered to General Cushing by 
Governor Boutwell, but he declined the honor. The legislature of 1852 
having created an additional Justice of the Supreme Court, General 
Cushing was appointed to the office. It is admitted that he performed 
the duties of his seat on the bench with ability and integrity, and as a 
judge, he acquired an enviable popularity. In person. General Cushing 
is tall and slender, with dark complexion and pleasing address. His 
habits are of the most active and industrious character, and his friends 
have great confidence that he will acquit himself in the duties of a 
cabinet office with the same ability that he has shown in the various other 
public stations he has occupied. 

There are some men so nicely tempered in the elements of their being 
that, to use the language of natural science, they seem formed to be 



CALEB GUSHING, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 49 

"perfect conductors" of the better S3'rapatliies, at least, of all with v.'hom 
they are thrown into contact. Without an}' conscious eftbrt or design 
on their part, and, indeed, because they cannot avoid it, they enter at 
once into the feelings and appreciate the views of others around them, 
and tiud their hearts beating- in unison with the circle of which they 
happen, for the time, to form a part. They are instinctively interested 
in others, and have the power of interesting others in themselves without 
any conscious effort to do so. A free interchange of thought and feeling 
between themselves and others takes place almost at the moment of 
contact, and they have the happy art of throwing themselves at once 
into the position of other minds, and of appreciating such views of things 
as that position presents. To pronounce such men insincere, unstable, 
and destitute of any fixed opinions and principles — to regard them as 
under the control of mere selfish policy and aiming at universal popular 
favor, would evince an utter want of discrimination, and would be the 
grossest misrepresentation of the class of men Avhom we are describing. 

Receiving from the hands of his Maker a temperament of this peculiar 
character, General Gushing is happily fitted for distinction both in social 
and professional life, and for the general offices of a public speaker ; and 
10 this temperament in part, must be attributed his achieved and 
acknowledged eminence in each of these jiarticulars. It would not be 
easy for him to avoid being the life of every social circle of which he is 
a part, or becoming thoroughly identified for the time vith his client, 
or engaging the attention at once of anv assembly in which he is called 
to speak. With a ready command of language, for which he is indebted 
in part to the habitual reading of the best writers of our own tongue, and of 
the classics of other languages, and a happy susceptibility by which he 
kindles at once with the spii-it of his occasion, he is never long on his 
feet without savinp- wdiat the occasion demands, and makincr himself 
understood and felt. 

As to the peculiar cast of General Cushing's mind as it developes itself, 
especially in his forensic efforts, it is rather to be classed with such as 
seize at once upon the great and broad principles of justice and common 
sense in the case, and bring those principles to bear, than among that 
class which spend their strength in eliminating nice and subtle distinc- 
tions, and which astonish others by the i)recision with which such 
distinctions are drawn out. Though blessed by a kind I'rovidence with 
the means of securino; a librarv of extensive range and of cjreat value, 
the materials which he draws from this resource are never paraded for 
display, nor can his mind be character'zed as a depository of the thoughts 
of other men ; though he still knows how, with singular proprietv, when 
occasion re({uires, to apply a choice saying, either of the ancients or 
moderns, to a passing exigency. 

General Gushing excels many eminent men in his thorough knowledge 
of human nature, and in his quick and instinctive insight into the cha- 
racter of individual men. lie knows how to approach men of all classes 
and of all prejudices, and to impress himself upon them ; and if there 
be any weakness especially, eitlier in the character or the argument of 
his adversary, none is more rea.ly than he to lay his firjger upon it, and 
hold it up in a clear and striking light. 

Another characteristic by which General Gusliing is happily fitted for 

4 



50 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

the office of an advocate, and of a general public speaker, is a ready 
facility in illustration, and a command of those materials for this purpose 
which are supplied by the conduct and sayings of others with v,"hom he 
has been brought into contact, either by personal acquaintance or by 
reading. Throwing himself, in his illustrations and anecdotes, as his 
temperament qualifies him to do, into the position and feelings of those 
of whom he is speaking, his narrations are always vivid and possessed 
of a quickening power ; and if there be any man who knows how to 
associate ideas in a manner at once natural and yet unusual and strik- 
ing, so as to produce a pleasurable surprise and wake up even a sluggish 
and melancholy mind, it is certainly he. 

With no time or disposition to enter into the practical and laborious 
part of agricultural life, or of horticulture, his tastes run decidedly in 
that direction, and his means allow him to indulge them. To listen to 
him in an agricultural meeting, or in a road-side conversation with an 
agricultural man, one would easily discover that he had much real sym- 
pathy with that class of men. 

In his theological views and sympathies he is about equally removed 
from that class of theologians, who look for everything good and true, 
and important, only in the past, and from those who despise the ancients, 
and seem to have no regard but for things either new or future ; and he 
would take as much pleasure in discovering and magnifying a point of 
agreement between himself and a controversialist of another sect, as some 
men do in holding up and substantiating a point of diiference. With his 
tendencies toward a medium between both extremes of ultraism, he would 
be equally at home and equally in place in leading onward in some men- 
tal movement, or in holding back and moderating a movement as the 
exigency might require. 

The above outline denotes a life of varied action not often to be met 
with. From a graduate at an early age, we trace him to the tutor, the 
lawyer, traveller, legislator, diplomatist, explorer, and soldier, and in each 
successive sphere of employment we find the same perseverance, irre- 
pressible activity, indomitable energy, and capacity to meet the require- 
ments of any branch of the public service. 

Without taking into the account his orations and occasional addresses 
before literary and scientific institutions, his literary, historical, and poli- 
tical productions have been very numerous. Although he stands in the 
foremost rank as a debater and public speaker, prompt, fluent, vigorous, 
and self-possessed, his ability in this respect does not form the principal 
feature in his intellectual character. He possesses an intrepid and execu- 
tive o-enius. There is work, resolution, and endurance in him, as well as 
learning, eloquence, and facility in literary composition. 

His energy and vigor, both of mind and body, his thorough acquaint- 
ance with all the higher business of life, civil and military ; his command 
of speech and pen, and the adaptability of his talents, and generality of 
his acquirements, remind us of the m>in of the same traits of character 
and the same versatility of life, who fis.-ure, under similar circumstances, 
in the annals of the ancient republics. 



< 




7ZNI1T;/J STATBS post M^STS:ji OX7<rBJ?^l, 



■■ B74>frctpfuc.~./ 



■' ' Sniin6nj^Mrn^-r/:Aaj'is 



JAMES CAMPBELL, 

POSTMASTER-GENERAL. 

The present Postmaster-General of the United States, is the youngest 
member of the cabinet of President Pierce, except the Secretary of the 
Navy, Mr. Dobbin. Mr. Dobbin is thirty-nine years of age, and Mr. 
Campbell forty. It is a significant characteristic of American progress 
that our young men wield great, if not commanding power in public affairs. 
Nor is this the case to the exclusion of men of riper years. It is the 
result of a great political and social necessity. Fortunes, in this country, 
are constantly changing hands, and we have no such institutions fostered 
by our laws as the system of old and honorable families. The son of 
the rich man of to-day, may, in his turn, be the father of the poor man 
of to-morrow. Nor are the glittering heights of fame and influence 
always attainable by the oftspring of wealthy parents. Hence it is, that 
self-education and self-reliance are the marked elements of the American 
character. Hence it is, that long before an Englishman may be said to 
be ready to begin the world, the citizen in this great Republic is probably 
an influential legislator, or a leading man in his own community. The 
amount of service that one man may thus confer upon his country and 
upon his fellow beings, cannot very readily be over-estimated. Our old 
men are not the less serviceable because they begin public life early. 
The school they pass through before they reach the Psalmist's age, is 
not only valuable to them but to their children, and their children's 
children, and thus the intellects that pass from the stage are constantly 
revived and renewed in those who follow them. 

James Campbell is the son of an adopted citizen. His father emi 
grated from Ireland, at the close of the last century ; and by his Indus 
try and thrift, was enabled to give his children a thorough education. 
The object of our sketch exhibited, at an early day, those sterling traits 
of character which have made him so influential and so successful throua^h 
life. He became a member of the bar, resolved upon success. His per 
severing, energetic, prompt, and inquiring mind soon gave him a high 
rank among the proverbially able, acute, and eloquent members of the 
legal profession in Philadelphia; and at the age of twenty-nine he was 
appointed judge of the court of common pleas of that city and county — 
having been unanimously recommended for that station by the delegates 
in the Legislature from the county, and unanimously confirmed by the 
state senate. His position was well calculated to task his intellect and 
his firmness ; but, during nine years, he discharged its various duties, 
onerous and exacting, to the satisfaction of all parties. At the end of 
that time (1850), the Judiciary was made elective, by a change in the 
constitution of Pennsylvania; and at the first ensuing election, in 1851, 
Judge Campbell, while on the common pleas bench, was nominated by 
the democratic party one of the five democratic candidates for the 
supreme court of the state. The Convention which placeil his name 
before the people for that high position was composed mainly of lawyers, 
including some of the most eminent and distinguished intellects of the 



52 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

state. Two thirds of this body voted for the nomination of Judge 
Campbell. In their address to the people, sustaining their selections, 
they spoke of Judge Campbell in the following eloquent terms : — 

" Naturally modest and unobtrusive, although possessed of excellent 
talents and extensive legal attainments, he has not sought opportunities 
to exhibit himself before the public. He has performed his duties with 
exemplary fidelity, and his legal opinions have been marked for their 
accuracy, perspicuity, and system. In all the relations of life, Judge 
Campbell has sustained an unblemished reputation. Pure, well educated, 
honest, and inflexible ; combining with these, gentlemanly deportment 
and manners, he possesses a strong mind and sound judgment. He has 
a large circle of warm and devoted friends, who have known him from 
his youth, and who rejoice in his elevation, by the energy of his cha- 
racter, to the position which he holds, and also cherish him for his inte- 
grity, talents, and social virtues." 

But, notwithstanding this high tribute to a tried and trusted jurist, 
and to an esteemed and irreproachable citizen, he was defeated at the 
election. It is not necessary that we should dwell upon the causes 
which produced this result. Suffice it to say that Judge Campbell was 
defeated solely by a sectarian combination of bigotry and intolerance. 
During all this excitement, however — even while pursued and persecuted 
— he bore himself with a fortitude and calmness which elicited spon- 
taneous admiration. So well established was the character of Judge 
Campbell, and so wide and general the feeling which followed the result 
of the election in 1851, that as soon as Mr. Bigler, the popular and 
intrepid chief magistrate of Pennsylvania, elected that year, came to 
select his cabinet counsellors, the name of James Campbell was pointed 
out, by emphatic demonstrations of public opinion, as one that would be 
most satisfactory to the democratic masses. Governor Bigler accord- 
ingly appointed him attorney-general, in January, 1852. That he filled 
this high trust with eminent ability, sagacit}', and energy, even his 
adversaries have never denied. During the presidential election of 1852, 
Judge Campbell was enabled to render gi'eat and signal service to the 
democratic party. Owing to circumstances, the state was for a time 
regarded as extremely doubtful ; and it was in that crisis his high 
and patriotic character shone conspicuous. Nobly forgetting the per- 
sonal injury inflicted by those of his own party who had caused his 
defeat, and mindful only of his duty to his principles, he threw himself 
into the contest, and, with enthusiastic perseverance and ability, devoted 
himself to the work. Thousands remembered his own defeat in the 
feelings of deep and resistless indignation ; and, to add to their feel- 
ings arising from this cause, the whig leaders were enei'getically attempt- 
ing to arouse their prejudices against President Pierce himself. Judge 
Campbell boldly took issue with this movement ; and it is not going too 
far to say that to his appeals, to his eloquence, to his tact and skill, were 
the democracy indebted for the reconciliation which followed. Indeed, 
it was then, as it is now, admitted, that to him more than to any other 
man was Pennsylvania indebted for the two signal victories in October 
and November, 1852. 

• When President Pierce called Judge Campbell into his cabinet, he 
acted upon that knowledge of politics and of men, which is so strongly 



JAMES CAMPBELL, OF PENNSYLVANIA. 53 

his characteristic. He knew the history, as well as tlie tone and 
temper of the new postmaster-general. Judge Campbell has now been 
about nine months at the head of that most intricate and responsible 
department. That he is a popular executive officer, even his opponents 
admit, and that he is prompt, indefatigable, ready, and bold, all who have 
watched bis career willingly testify. 

Few men have occupied a higher position upon the Pennsylvania 
bench than Judge Campbell. Regarding the study of law, not merely as 
a matter of professional duty, but as the investigation of an intricate and 
beautiful science, he devoted the powers of his fine intellect to it not 
more as a means of advancement in his profession, than as a matter of 
taste and subject of intellectual pleasure. With a mind eminently legal 
in its character — with reasoning powers, active, rapid, and accurate — 
with that peculiar mental faculty which enables the possessor to disen- 
cumber the subject before him of all surplus matter, and follow the 
correct line of argument without danger of deviation, he united to 
great research much analytical ability and deep thought. Thus fitted 
by nature and education for its study — viewing it in this light, and 
investigating it with this doubk impulse and purpose, he could not be 
content with that comparatively superficial knowledge which might 
have answered the dem.ands of practice, but closely and carefully 
searched into the anatomy of English and American jurisprudence. 
Familiar to a remarkable degree with the minutiae of English history, 
particularly of those times when law was erected into a system — look- 
ing not merely to the prominent features of that system, but to the 
causes which led to, and the circumstances attendant upon the introduc- 
tion of those features, he learned to attend less to the letter than to 
the great purpose and spirit of law. His mind thus early became im- 
bued with those great leading principles which form the only solid 
basis of legal learning, and are the rules by which alone the cor- 
rectness of individual decisions can be accurately tested. Making him- 
self acquainted with all important decisions of English and American 
courts, a remarkably retentive memory enabled him not only to re- 
collect the prominent points decided in each cause, but most usually 
the detailed history of the case, and the finer and more delicate 
legal distinctions which were drawn in its progress. This course 
of study while at the bar, with his clear views of legal philosophy 
and analogy, enabled him, upon coming to the bench, to decide the 
difficult questions arising in his courts, not seldom upon unadjudicated 
points, with great rapidity, and little consultation of authority. 

In friendly, social intercourse, he has few superiors. Possessing a fund 
of information which seems not only to embrace every clime and every 
subject, but all the prominent personages of every country and every 
time ; a knowledge of the classics, which comprehends not merely the 
leading authors of Grecian and Roman literature, but the rich and 
varied fields of learning connected with thera ; — a fine dramatic 
taste, and a familiar acquaintance with the leading playwrights ; — 
an acquaintance with history, including not only the narrative of events, 
but extending to its minor details, and the manners and customs of 
nations at the different periods of their existence ; — a biographical 
knowledge of the men of Europe and America, which, not confining 

VOL. m. 16 



54 SKKTCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

itself to their history as politicians or men of science, extends to their 
private lives and characters — with much of the quaint lore of the 
antiquary ; — a fund of anecdote, and a vein of quiet humor seldom sur- 
passed ; with rare conversational powers — clothing his ideas in lan- 
guage at once simple and elegant — imparting his information with that 
absence of pretension which evidences an entire fi-eedom from pedantry — 
there are very few who do not derive both pleasure and instruction from 
his society. 

With the quiet, easy manner of a gentleman, at home in any company 
and welcome in all ; with that true politeness which, appearing to recog- 
nise no diflerence in men, extends the same dignified courtesy to the 
humblest and poorest as to the highest and most influential ; with that 
mino-led pride and delicacy of character which will Hatter the vanity and 
wound the feelings of no one ; plain, unostentatious, and unpretendmg, it 
is difficult to know without admiring him, and he is believed to be with- 
out a personal enemy. In his intercourse with his fellow men, his frank 
and cordial address makes for him hosts of friends. His attention to the 
multiplied details of his office, and his comprehensive and masterly man- 
ao-ement of its extended and extending operations, are felt and acknow- 
ledged in all parts of the country. 

The portrait of Judge Campbell which acompanies this sketch, does 
ample justice to his fine, expressive, and classic countenance. 




•X 




TSE DE^L- 



^TSmOR 



ROBERT ^IcCLELLAND, 

SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. 

Robert McClelland, of Michigan, is a native of rennsylvania. and was 
born at Green Castle, Franklin county, lie is a graduate of Dickinson 
college, and a member of the bar. 

At'ter his admission, in 1831, he removed to Pittsburg, and pursued the 
practice of the law during the year 1832 at that place. 

In 1833 he removed to Michigan, and established himself at Monroe 
in the practice of his profession. The convention assemljlcd for the for- 
mation of the constitution of the state of Michigan in 183t), })reparatorj 
to her admission into the Union, found him enrolled amongst its most 
ardent, able, and eloquent members; and in the year 1838, as a member 
of lier legislature, and chairman of several of its most important com- 
mittees, he was eminently distinguished. 

After the political contest which resulted so disastrously to the demo- 
cratic party in 1840, Mr. McClelland was the acknowledged leader, around 
whom the taithful few gathered together in the councils of the state, for 
the vindication of democratic principles. 

The confidence of the democracy was justified, the acknow.'xlgment 
of which was the choice of their champion as Speaker of the popular 
branch of the State Legislature in the year 1843. 

After a warmlv contested election in 1843, lie was elected to Congress 
by a majority of about 2500 votes in a district which had given Howard, 
the whig nominee in 1840, a whig majority of 500 over his popular com- 
petitor, the Hon. Alpheus Felch. In Congress, as a member of the com- 
mittee of commerce, his report and advocacy of several important bills 
attracted the public attention. Ilis re-election to the two succeeding 
Congresses— the twenty-ninth and thirtieth — manifested the abiding con- 
fidence of his constituency ; and the personal estimation in which his cha- 
racter and public services were held by liis fellow-members of the com- 
mittee of commerce, of which he was chairman, was pleasingly evinced 
by their presentation to him of a beautiful cane as a testimonial of ollicial 
and persoiuil regard. During the ascendency of the whig party in Con- 
gress in 1848, he was placed on the committee of Foreign Relations, and 
had under his peculiar charge the French spoliation bill, and so conducted 
himself as to command universal respect and esteem. 

He left Congress in 1849, and in 1850 became a member of, and was 
considered to be the leader in the constitutional convention of Michigan. 
In 1851 he was elected Governor of his adopted State by a majority of 
more than '7,000, and was re-elected in 1852 by an increased majority, 
with a popular candidate in the opposition, of over 8,000 votes. 

Upon the triumphant restoration of the democratic party, by the 
almost unexampled unanimity of the public sentiment in the election of 
General I'ierce, with that sagacity which peculiarly distinguishes the 
President, he selected Governor McClelland for the most interesting and 
arduous, if not the most important, post in his cabinet, the duties of 
which he discharges with singular ability and dispatch. 



56 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Governor McClelland is a man in whom the elements jf true and sub- 
stantial greatness are happily and harmoniously l)lended ; and it is a 
fact, no less true than rare, tliat in none of tlie many political contests in 
which he has been engaged, has he ever been personally assailed by his 
opponents. It has been said, since his entrance into the cabinet, that he 
is a free-soiler ; but how it can be so stated with truth, it is difli(nilt to 
perceive. On the slavery question, Governor McClelland, when in Con- 
gress, like a good and true democrat, represented his constituency ; but 
he never was in favor of any interference with the pecuhar institutions 
of the South, and a more thorouofh state-rijxhts man than he is not to 
be found either north or south. 

In June, 1850, which was previous to the adoption of the compromise 
measures by Congress, the members of the Constitutional Convention of 
Michigan, who were favorable to those measures, held a public meeting 
and adopted strong resolutions, embracing all the essential features of 
the compromise acts. Those resolutions were scrutinized and corrected 
by him, and will meet the sanction and approval of the most fastidious. 

In the fall of 1850, he was president (vf the Democratic State Con- 
vention, which adopted strong resolutions, but before they were oft'ered 
they were submitted to him, and by him examined and cordially approved. 
Exceedingly strong resolutions in favor of all the compromise measures 
Avere likewise offered to the convention which nominated him for gover- 
nor in l:ji/l ;* and in his address to the convention, after having been 
infoi-med of his nomination, he urged his friends to adopt and cling to 
those measures as a final settlement of the vexed question of slavery. 

In company with General Cass, in 1852, he canvassed the whole State 
of Michigan, and addressed some twenty or more mass meetings, and 
always advocated a full and faithful recognition of the constitutionality 
of the slavery adjustment. 

Governor McClelland was a member of the Baltimore Conventions of 
1818 and 1852, and was never any more akin to a free-soiler than General 
Cass, whose right-hand man he was in the contest for the Presidency in 
1848. 

He is a democrat of the ti-ue stamp. He always advocated a strict 
construction of the constitution, a tariff for i-e venue only, the independent 
treasury, and all other prominent democratic measures. He has never 
yet refused to contbrm to the usages of the party, but has on all occa- 
sions energetically supported democratic principles and the nominees of 
the party, whetlier they were of his choice or not. 

* Tlie following are tlie resolutions referred to : 

Reaolved, That the recent measures of compromise, embracing a settlement of 
the distracting questions which have disturbed and almost interrupted the busi- 
ness of Congress, and seriously threatened the integrity of the Union itself, were 
demanded by a fair consideration of the constitutional rights of the various 
members of the confederac}% 

That the democracy of Michigan, pandering to no mns, rejecting all alliances' 
with sectional factions, having in view the irrepealable claims of each state in 
the Union, and yielding only to the demands of the constitution, declare empha- 
tically that the compromise measures stand justified in the eyes of every well- 
wisher of his countrj", and should be sustained and executed in all their partd 
faithfully, fully, and impartially. 

Adopted by the Convention of 1851, which nominated Mr. McClelland for 
Governor. 



ROBERT m'cLELLAND OF MICHIGAN. 57 

In Michigan, where he is best known, he is esteemed as a true, con- 
sistent, ami tirm democrat ; and no whig, fi-ee-soiler, or other opponent 
in his state will have the hardihood to charge him with any disregard of 
the constitutional rights of tlio South, or of any other ])ortion of our free, 
happy, and glorious Union. 

Governor McClelland has now had charge of the ])epartment of the 
Interior for about a year, and the public may entertain a })retty correct 
ap])reciatiun of the maimer in which he directs its dissimilar and compli- 
cated affairs. The department exercises appellate powers over all the 
acts of the Commissioners of the Land, Pension, and Indian Offices, and 
of the Public Buildings; and partially over those of the Commissioner 
of Patents, the Inspectors of the Penitentiary of the United States in the 
District of Columbia, and the accounts of United States marshals, clerks, 
and attorneys. We may well conceive that the numerous, important, 
and diverse questions which come under the laws governing these several 
classes of subjects, offer no bed of roses for the head of the department. 
It is our opinion that the Interior Department is tlie most laborious, com- 
plicated, and ditKcult to manage of any. But Governor McClelland, by 
his imtiring industry and ajiplication, has brought up much business 
which luid been in arrears since 1847. For a conscientious dischar^-eof 
duty, intlexible integnt}', prudence, and soundness of judgment, he is 
unsurpassed. He seeks rather to discliarge his duties quietly and ivell^ 
than with a view to elicit notice or applause. He is very methodical 
and systematic, and never loses the most perfect control of himself. He 
is not ambitious, and pays but little attention to private or public com- 
plimentary notices. 

Earlier in life, Mr. McClelland won a high reputation as a brilliant 
speaker and powerful debater; to the justice of which the debates in the 
conventions for the formation and amendment of the constitution of 
Michigan, which presents throughout the impress of his enlarged states- 
manship and democratic spirit, bear ample testimony. 

Matured experience, in high public trusts, has elevated his sentiments 
beyond that meretricious ambition, which has been justly termed " the 
hust infirmity of noble minds," to the purer and loftier aim of usefulness 
to his country and to mankind. Above no occasion, yet equal to all, 
whatever may be his future destiny, history has already inscribed his 
name in the annals of his country, among the imperishable few, as a 
good, wise, and useful citizen. 

As a lawyer, he enjoyed great popularity. He was always disposed 
to disregard mere quibbles and nice technicalities, and desired to see 
every case stand or fall on its broad merits. He never resorted to tricks 
or subterfuges to insure success, and held in contempt all who did. He 
was, perhaps, more powerful before the jury than the court. Always 
himself above suspicion, plain and candid, his mere assertion had great 
weight with jurors in spite of themselves. His oratory is different 
from any described in the books — it is original and peculiar. He seldom 
uses quotations, nor often refers to authorities to sustain his argument ; 
indulges in no flights of fancy, or rhetorical flourishes. He comes at 
once to the subject, and by a masterly statement and thrilling sincerity 
of manner, removes anv prejudices which might have been entertained, 



58 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

and wins the synijKitliy and judj^niK-nt of liis auditory. There is no 
UKTft declamation, no bombast in his speaking. Simplicity is tlie chief 
characteristic of the man, and especially is it characteristic of his speak- 
iii'jf. 'I'here is a plainness and directness about it which makes him 
alvva\s intelligible to the dullest comprehension. His keen and quick 
perce{)tion instantly detects the weak points of his adversary, and they 
are lai<l bare as with a dissecting knife, while his unerring sagacity 
enables him to seize, and set fortii prominently, the strong points of 
his own case, lie speaks better than he writes, and speaks with little 
or no preparation as to what he is to say, relying upon the ins])iratioii 
of the moment ; lie warms up and rises in fervor as he progresses 
with his subject. 

Mr. McClelland is distinguished for his firmness and decision of cha- 
racter ; and whether in the ati'airs of life, or in the discharge of liis pro- 
fessional duties, for great self-reliance. Yet it must not be ir.f-.'rred that, 
because these are distinguishing traits of his character, lie is obstinate or 
dogmatic ; on the contrary, no one is more ready to receive any counsel 
which may tend to enlighten his judgment. It is only when that judg- 
ment is formed, and when he is fully convinced of its correctness, that he 
is uTiswerving and uncompromising. 

AVe cannot conclude this brief sketch witliout some observation on 
the private worth of Governor McClelland. We know of no man whose 
character, ii, this respect, will bear a severer scrutiny. In all the trans- 
actions of life, his conduct is marked by the most scrupulous integrity, 
and he guards his honor with that sensitive care which has ever kept it 
far above suspicion. The hearty cordiality of his manner inspires full 
confidence in the integrity of his heart, and an acquaintance at once 
desires to become a fiiend. When tliat relation is established, he com- 
prehends its duties in the largest extent, and satisfies its demands with a 
ready, indeed unnecessary generosity. 








eJnistice ®£ fke StmpreMiLe CdDniTt ©f tke ITo§< 



£-n^7'aA^/:c^ 



k-j^jj'hi'^ oP EminAn^ y 



HON. JOHN McLean, 

JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COUKT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

A LOW, vaulted chamber, in the eastern basement of the capito],hav- 
uig no pretensions to architectural splendor and ornament, is the place 
where the supreme judicial department of the federal government 
has its local habitation. There is exercised an authority, bounded in 
its territorial extent only by the limits of the republic. It embraces 
among its subjects individuals, tribes, and sovereign states, the opera- 
tions of the state and federal governments in various departments and 
relations, and determines rights incident to peace and war. Its judges 
are called upon sometimes to administer the laws of nations, the laws 
of the federal republic, the laws of the several states, to expound na- 
tional treaties, and enforce private contracts. In the variety, import- 
ance, and majesty of its jurisdiction, and the wisdom and simplicity of 
its exercise, the Supreme Court of the United States has no parallel 
upon earth, and is without example in the history of the world. The 
stranger in Washington who comes into the presence of this tribunal, 
and witnesses the grave simplicity and wisdom that distinguishes its 
proceedings, feels a degree of respect and veneration inspired by no 
other department of the government. As with deep interest he looks 
upon the magistrates clothed with such high authority, his eye will 
rest upon the calm and dignified countenance of Mr. Justice McLean, 
who now sits in that chamber, the survivor of Marshall and Story, at 
the right hand of the Chief Justice, the senior judge in commission. 

A Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, Postmaster- 
General, Commissioner of the General Land-Office, Member of Con- 
gress, a Judge of the Supreme Court of his own state — these important 
stations in the three departments of government, executive, legislative, 
and judicial, comprise the sphere of Judge McLean's public life. The 
manner in which they have been filled is distinguished by an ability 
equaled only by the integrity of his private life ; presenting a character 
useful and worthy of respect in its day and generation, extending by ex- 
ample its influence to all time. 

The history of such a life is the history of the country. In the brief 
space allotted for this sketch can only be traced in outline the path by 
which, from obscure youth and humble station. Judge McLean has at- 
tained the honors of his mature age. And it will thus be seen that, 
while such distinction is reached by few, the path to it in this repub- 
lican government is open to all ; that to his principles may be ascribed 
the usefulness and success of his life. 

" Lives of great men all remind us, 
We can make our lives sublime, 
And departing, leave behind us 
Foot-prints on the sands of time." 

In Morris county, New-Jersey, on the 11th of March, 1785, John 
McLean was born. Four years afterwards his father, in humble cir 



CO SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

cumstances, with a large family, removed to the western country ; 
settling for a short time, first at Morganstown, Virginia, afterwards on 
Jessamine, near the town of Nicholasville, Kentucky, from whence he 
removed, in 1793, to the neighborhood of Mayslick, and finally, in 1799, 
to that part of the territory northwest of the Ohio River, which now 
Cf)nstitutes Warren county, Ohio. He settled upon and cleared a farm 
in this new country, where, for forty years, and until his death, he re- 
sided. His son afterwards owned, and for a long time resided upon, 
the homestead. The means of education in that country in those days 
were very limited, and, in the father's condition, the son could not be 
sent abroad to be educated ; but, being sent to school at an early age, 
he made great proficiency in the elementary branches of education. 
Laboring on the flirm until sixteen years of age, he then received in- 
struction from the Reverend Matthew Wallace and Mr. Stubbs in the 
languages, with which, by their aid and diligent study, he became well 
acquainted ; — in the mean time, with generous independence, refusing to 
tax his father's limited means, he by his own labor maintained himself, 
and defrayed the expenses of his tuition. 

Ardent and aspiring, at an early age he resolved to pursue the legal 
profession. Animated with genuine ambition, dismayed by no difficul- 
ties, with firm and determined purpose confiding in his own virtue and 
industry to overcome all obstacles, he engaged, at the age of eighteen 
years, to write in the clerk's office of Hamilton county, in Cincinnati, 
in order to maintain himself by devotuig a portion of his time each day 
to that labor, while pursuing the study of law under the direction of 
Arthur St. Clair, an eminent counselor, son of the distinguished general 
of that name, and who had been governor and judge of the Northwest 
Territory. While supporting himself, he thus acquired, in connection 
with the principles of legal science, a knowledge of the practical forms 
of his profession, the details of public business, and formed those me- 
thodical and diligent habits that proved of infinite service in his subse- 
quent career. In addition to his other employments he became a 
member, and took an active part in the discussions, of a debating so- 
ciety in Cincinnati, many of whose members have since attained distinc- 
tion in the public service. And it may well be doubted whether any 
mode of instruction more efficient could have been devised for the 
future lawyer, statesman and judge, than was diligently resorted to for 
three years by the young aspirant for his own improvement, and to 
overcome his straitened circumstances and secure his independence. 

hi the spring of 1807, being then twenty-two years of age, Mr. 
McLean was married to a lady of amiable manners and great benevo- 
lence of character. Miss Rebecca Edwards, daughter of Dr. Edwards, 
formerly of South Carolina. She was for many years his devoted com- 
panion, sharing the struggles of his early life and the honors of his man- 
hood, in her own sphere presiding with judgment and discretion over 
the cares of a large family. 

In the fall of 1807, he was admitted to the bar; and entering upon 
the practice of law at Lebanon, in Warren county, he soon found him- 
self in the enjoyment of public confidence, and in the receipt of ample 
professional emoluments. 

At the October election in 1812, becoming a candidate to represent 



JOHN MCLEAN, OF OHIO. 



61 



in Congress his district, which then included the city of Cincinnati, after 
an animated contest with two competitors, he was elected by a large 
majority over both of the opposing candidates. The political princi- 
ples with which he entered public life, and the manner they were acted 
upon, in the high and responsible station to which he was now called, 
have been thus stated : '' Fiom his first entrance upon public life, John 
McLean was identified with the democratic party. lie \vas an ardent 
supporter of the war, and of the administration of Mr. Madison, yet 
not a blind advocate of every measure proposed by the party, as the 
journals of that period will show. His notes were all given in refer- 
ence to principle. The idea of supporting a dominant party, merely 
because it was dominant, did not influence his judgment, or withdraw 
him from the high path of duty which he had marked out for hiniselt'. 
He was well aware, that the association of individuals into parties, was 
sometimes absolutely necessary to the prosecution and accomplishment 
of any great public measure. This he supposed was sufficient to in- 
duce the members composing them, on any little difference with the 
majority, to sacrifice their own judgment to that of the greater num- 
ber, and to distrust their own opinions when they w'ere in contradiction 
to. the general views of the l)ai'ty. But as party was thus to be re- 
garded as itself, only an instrunient for the attainment of some great 
public good, the instrument should not be raised into greater importance 
than the end, nor any clear and undoubted principle of morality be 
violated for the sake of adherence to party. Mr. McLean often voted 
against political friends : yet so highly were both his integrity and judg- 
ment estimated, that no one of the democratic party separated himself 
from him on that account. Nor did his independent course in the 
smallest degree diminish the weight he had acquired among his own 



constituents." 



Among the measures supported by him, -were the tax bills of the 
extra session at which he first entered Congress. He originated the 
law to indemnify individuals for property lost in the public service. A 
resolution instructing the proper committee to inquire into the expedi- 
ency of giving pensions to the widows of the officers and soldiers who 
had fallen in their country's service, was introduced by him ; and the 
measure was afterwards sanctioned by Congressional enactment. By 
an able speech he defended the war measures of the administration ; and 
by the diligent discharge of his duties in respect to the general welflire 
of the country, and the interests of his people and district, he continued 
to rise in public estimation. In 1814, he was re-elected to Congress 
by the unanimous vote of his district, receiving not only every vote 
cast in the district for representative, but every voter that attended the 
polls voted for him — a circumstance that has rarely occurred in the 
political history of any man. His position as a member of the com- 
mittee of foreign relations and of the public lands, indicates the estima- 
tion in which he was held, and his familiarity with the important ques- 
tions of foreign and domestic policy which were in agitation during the 
eventful period of his membership. The wide field f)r pul)lic usefulness 
presented by the representative branch of the national legislature, in- 
duced him to decline earnest solicitations to become a candidate for the 
United States Senate in 1815. at a time when his election was regarded 



62 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

as certain, although he had only attained his thirtieth year, and was 
therefore barely eligible. He remained in Congress until 181G, when 
the legislature of Ohio having unanimously elected him a judge of the 
Supreme Court of that state, he resigned his seat in Congress at the 
close of the session, and was succeeded as representative of that district 
by General Harrison. 

After his acceptance of the judgeship, and before his resignation, the 
famous compensation bill was reported, giving to each member of 
Congress a salary of fifteen hundred dollars a-year, in lieu of the per 
diem allowance then paid, which was supported by the judge and 
by the principal members of Congress of both political parties. He 
was on the committee that reported the bill ; and being convinced that 
it was a measure eminently calculated to advance the public service, 
he voted for it, believing that it would shorten the sessions of Con- 
gress, give it a more business character, and greatly lessen the public 
expenditure. Under this law, no useless discussions would have been 
tolerated, and the business before Congress would have been promptly 
dispatched. But the law was perverted, and its effects misrepresented 
by selfish aspirants, so that at the next session it was repealed, and 
the present law, giving eight dollars per day, and eight dollars for 
every twenty miles travel, was passed. Under the salary system, few 
members would have consented to remain in session longer than was 
necessary to act on the business before them. The contingent ex- 
penses of Congress would have been one-third less than they now are, 
and the annual pay of the members would have been proportionably 
reduced : at the same time, they would have been better paid for 
the time spent in legislation. But the most desirable feature in the 
reform would have been found in the increasing dignity and business 
character of the body. 

Judge McLean remained six years upon the Supreme Bench of Ohio, 
serving the state with great advantage to its jurisprudence, and evincing 
those professional attainments and judicial qualities that have since 
distinguished his present station. In the summer of 1822, he was ap- 
pointed Commissioner of the General Land Ofiice by President Monroe ; 
and in July, 1823, he became Postmaster-General. 

The administration of the General Post-Office, in the condition it then 
was, presented so little for an ambitious man of reputation to hope for, 
and so much to dread, that his friends earnestly endeavored to dissuade 
him from accepting the appointment. Disordered arrangements, de- 
pressed finances, arduous duties, public complaints and distrust, not 
unmingled with groundless abuse and calumny, presented a field where 
it was generally thought no reputation could be won. But confiding in 
his own industry and ability, and relying with confidence upon the 
virtue and intelligence of the people properly to estimate devotion to 
their service. Judge McLean resolved to undertake the hazard of the 
office. Order and economy enforced, finances improved and credit 
restored, regularity and dispatch of the mail, intercourse extended, and 
commercial correspondence carried on with ease, celerity, and security 
before unknown, soon manifested the application of his vigorous mind 
and methodical habits to the complicated affairs of tTie Post-office de- 
partment. Devoting his personal attention to all the details of busi- 



JOHN m'lean, of OHIO. 63 

ness, guarding against fraud and corruption in the making and execution 
of contracts, promptly dismissing unfaithful and inefficient contractors, 
agents, and postmasters, superintending all the correspondence, and 
acting upon all appointments and complaints, his administration of this 
department was rewarded with unexampled success and public confi- 
dence. By a nearly unanimous vote of the Senate and House, the Post- 
Tnaster-General's salary was increased from four to six thousand dol- 
lars. Those who from motives of policy opposed the measure, did so 
with reluctance ; and John Randolph said the salary was for the officer 
and not for the office, and that he would vote for the bill if the law 
should be made to expire when Judge McLean left the office. 

The distribution of the public patronage of his department exhibited 
in another respect his qualities as an executive officer, and manifested 
the rule of action that has always marked his character. The principle 
upon which executive patronage should be distributed, has been one of 
the most important questions in this government, and has presented 
the widest variation between the profession and practice of individuals 
and parties. In the administration of the Post-office department by 
Judge McLean, an example was presented in strict consistence with 
sound principles of republican government, and just party organization. 
'' During the whole time that the affairs of the department were ad- 
ministered by the judge, he had necessarily a difficult part to act. The 
country was divided into two great parties, animated by the most de- 
termined spirit of rivalry, and each bent on advancing itself to the lead 
of public atFairs. A question was now started, whether it was proper 
to make political opinions the test of qualification for office. Such a 
principle had been occasionally acted upon during preceding periods of 
our history ; but so rarely, as to constitute the exception, rather than 
the rule. It had never become the settled and systematic course of 
conduct of any public officer. Doubtless every one is bound to concede 
something to the temper and opinions of the party to which he belongs, 
otherwise party would be an association without any connecting bond 
of alliance. But no man is permitted to infringe any one of the great 
rules of morality and justice, for the sake of subserving the interests 
of his party. It cannot be too often repeated, nor too strongly im- 
pressed upon the public men of America, that nothing is easier than 
to reconcile these two apparently conflicting views. The meaning of 
party, is an association of men for the purpose of advancing the public 
interests. Men thrown together indiscriminately, without any common 
bond of alliance, would be able to achieve nothing great and valuable; 
while united together, to lend each other mutual support and assistance, 
they are able to surmount the greatest obstacles, and to accomplish the 
most important ends. This is the true notion of party. It imports 
combined action ; but does not imply any departure from the great 
principles of truth and honesty. So long as the structure of the human 
mind is so varied in different individuals, there will always be a wide 
scope for diversity of opinion as to public measures ; but no foundation 
is yet laid in the human mind for any material difference of opinion, as 
to what constitutes the great rule of justice. 

"The course which was pursued by Judge McLean, was marked by 
the greatest wisdom and moderation. Believing that every public 



64 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

officer holds his office in trust for the people, he determined to be in- 
ffuenced by no other principle in the discharge of his public duties, 
than a faithful performance of the trust committed to him. No indi- 
vidual was removed from office by him, on account of his political 
opinions. In making appointments where the claims and qualifications 
of persons were equal, and at the same time one was known to be 
friendly to the administration, he felt himself bound to appoint the one 
who was his friend. But when persons were recommended to office, it 
was not the practice to name, as a recommendation, that they had been 
or were warm supporters of the dominant power. In all such cases, 
the man who was believed to be the best qualified was selected by the 
department." 

Having illustrated his principles and character in private and pro- 
fessional life, in legislative, judicial and executive functions, Judge 
McLean was now called to exercise his capacity and attainments in the 
full maturity of their strength, in the highest judicial station. By the 
appointment of General Jackson in 1829, he was placed upon the Bench 
of the Supreme Court of the United States, having declined the War 
and Navy departments, which were tendered to him. The circumstances 
that accompanied this appointment evincing the confidential relations 
that existed between General Jackson and Judge McLean, notwithstand- 
ing their ditFerent sentiments upon some principles of public policy, 
are interesting and highly creditable to both parties. They have been 
thus related: 

" On the arrival of General Jackson, after his election to the presi- 
dency, and when he was about selecting the members of his cabinet. 
Judge McLean was sent for to ascertain whether he was willing to re- 
main at Washington. General Jackson having stated the object of the 
interview, the judge remarked, that he was desirous to explain the line 
of conduct he had hitherto pursued : observing, that the general might 
have received the impression from some of the public prints, that the 
Postmaster-General had used the patronage of his office for the purpose 
of advancing the general's election ; but he wished him to understand, 
that no such thing had been done — and that had he pursued such a 
course, he would deem himself unworthy of the President's confidence, 
or that of any other honorable man. But that he was bound in candor 
to say, should he remain in office, he would not deviate in any respect 
from the course he had pursued under Mr. Adams ; that in all he had 
done he had looked with a single eye to the public interest, and that 
the same motives would govern his future action ; that no power, 
which could be brought to bear upon him, would change his purpose. 
The general replied with warm expressions of regard and confidence, 
and wished him to remain in the post-office department. He at the 
same time expressed regret, that circumstances did not enable him to 
offl'r the judge the treasury department. The judge replied, that hav- 
ing held office under the late administration, he was delicately situated, 
and required no distinction in his organization ; that he would remain 
in the post-office department on the terms stated, or retire, as might be 
deemed proper." It was well here to remark, that the postmaster- 
general was not a member of the cabinet, until he was made so by 
General Jackson. Some of the personal friends of the judge, who had 



JOHN m'lEAN, of OHIO. 65 

been designated for the cabinet, fearing that his course in the post-office 
department might not harmonize with the one which the members of 
the cabinet felt themselves bound to take, had conversations with him 
on the subject : and finding his purpose not to be changed, a seat on the 
Supreme Bench was offered to him, which he accepted, and to which he 
was immediately nominated. 

Judge McLean had received so large a share of public confidence in 
political life, and believing the people would sustain a public servant 
who honestly devoted his time and abilities to their service, that he 
left the department with great reluctance. He desired, above all things 
earthly, to see this great and glorious experiment of free government 
carried out in its true spirit. And this, he doubted not, would secure 
through all time to come, unbounded prosperity and happiness to those 
who were under its jurisdiction ; and that its moral power would so 
operate upon the civilized world, sooner or later, as to overturn the 
thrones of despotism, and introduce in every nation a national liberty. 
At the January term, 1830, Judge McLean entered upon his duties 
as a judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. There is, per- 
haps, no station which calls into exercise, to a greater degree, the high- 
est faculties of the human intellect. In that tribunal must be discussed 
not only points of judicial learning, but theoretic and practical ques- 
tions of art, science and government frequently arise, their decision 
involving the present and future rights and interests of citizens and of 
states, the prospci'ity of commerce, the extent of legislative and execu- 
tive powers, the stability of republican principles, and the progress of 
mankind towards peace and happiness. Judge McLean's eminent fit- 
ness for that station has been manifested by twenty-two years' service 
upon the Supreme Bench, in which period the jurisprudence of the 
country has been enriched by the diligent labors of his energetic and 
cultivated mind. By his early habits of labor and industry, his intel- 
lect was trained and his body inured to undergo exhaustion and fatigue 
greater than is imposed upon any other department of the government. 
Upon questions of commerce and constitutional law, his opinions have 
been distinguished ; evincing great powers of reasoning and investiga- 
tion, they manifest a clear perception of the principles upon which the 
federal government was established, a profound veneration of their wis- 
dom, and an inflexible firmness in their support. 

The duties of the judges of the Supreme Court requiring the exercise 
of their functions not only in term at the capitol, but in their respective 
circuits, they may exercise an important influence upon the bar and 
upon the character of state jurisprudence. In this respect the influence 
of Judge McLean has been sensibly felt. His courtesy and patient at- 
tention to counsel, the dignity of his demeanor, and the uprightness of 
his conduct upon the bench and in private life, observed by the law- 
yers assembled at the state capitals, and by intelligent jurors and wit- 
nesses, have afforded an example which, throughout his circuit, is held 
in high estimation. Some of his charges to grand juries in the crises of 
important events, are regarded as the most able and eloquent exposi- 
tions of the rights and duties of American citizens amongst themselves 
towards foreign nations and other states. The reports of the Supreme 
Court of the United States, and the reports of his decisions upon thft 



66 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

circuit, form a monument of judicial fame, for which the honors 
awarded to the chief magistrate of the republic would be a free ex- 
change. 

The honorary degree of Doctor of Laws has been conferred upon 
Judge McLean by Cambridge University, the Wesleyan University, 
and by several other colleges and institutions of learning in the western 
and southwestern states. 

In December, 1840, the judge suffered the severest affliction to which 
any man can be subjected, in the loss of the companion of his youth 
and the mother of his children. She died as she had lived, an example 
of virtue and the triumphs of religion. In 1843, he married Mrs. Sarah 
Bella Garrard, daughter of Israel Ludlow, Esq., one of the founders of 
Cincinnati, a lady extensively known and admired for the graces of 
her person, the charm of her manners, and the accomplishments of her 
refined and cultivated intellect. 

Judge McLean is tall and well-proportioned in person, his ^ appear- 
ance indicating great vigor of body and intellectual energy. His habits 
of life have always been simple and unostentatious. Cheerful in tem- 
per, frank in manners, instructive and eloquent in conversation, he 
possesses, in rare degree, the fliculty of inspiring confidence and warm 
attachment towards him in those who come within his influence, es- 
pecially in young members of the bar, towards whom his kindness and 
courtesy has always been extended. A professor of the Christian reli- 
gion, he has sought to regulate his public and private life in strict con- 
sistence with his faith ; by diligence, justice, and charity, showing forth 
the consistence of religious principles and profession with the duties of 
a citizen, a lawyer, a statesman and a judge. 




'^^^hyliS Saii 




lurstice of th© SnjEpreme CoTunrt of tt 



'Eva ^ for 3u)graphicaL Sketches of SmznencdTnerlcoyi.: 



HON. ROBERT C. GRIER, 

JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The life of a professional or literary man seldom exhibits any of 
those striking incidents that seize upon public feeling, and fix attention 
upon himself. His character is generally made up of the aggregate of 
the qualities and qualifications he may possess, as these maybe elicited 
l)y the exercise of the duties of his vocation, or the particular profes- 
sion to which he may belong. The subject of this brief notice may 
not form an exception to this general rule. His life has been one of 
hard study from his youth, and, since maturity, of laborious profes- 
sional duty in the several relations in which he has been placed ; and 
the high place to which he has attained is evidence that these qualities 
aflbrd the means of distinction under a system of government in which 
the places of honor are open to all who may be found worthy of them. 

Robert Cooper Grier was born March 5th. 1794, in Cumberland 
county, Pennsylvania, where his fiither, the Rev. Isaac Grier, at that 
time resided : his mother was the daughter of the Rev. Robert Cooper, 
of the same county, both of the Presbyterian Church. His father re- 
moved from Cumberland to Lycoming county, in the same state, in 
the fall of 1794, where he bought a farm, and built a house on it, a lit- 
tle below the mouth of Pine Creek, on the west bank of the Susque- 
hanna River. While resident there, he preached to three congregations 
for a very small compensation, deriving the means of his support 
mainly from a grammar-school which he taught, and the proceeds of 
his farm. He was a very superior Greek and Latin scholar, and every 
way competent as an instructor in those languages. And his amiable 
and excellent character, his benevolence and faithfulness as a pastor, 
gained for him the aflfections of all who knew- him. Few men in a 
like sphere have been more beloved ; and the many excellencies of the 
father's character were not lost upon the son. The latter, at the age 
of six years, began to learn Latin under the instructions of his father, 
and, by the time he had reached his twelfth year, had mastered the 
usual course of Latin and Greek as they were then taught in ordinary 
schools. He continued his studies, under his fether's direction, till 
1811, when he went to Dickenson College, and entered the junior class 
half advanced. In the mean time, in 180G his father had removed to 
Northumberland, Pa., having been invited to take charge of the acad- 
emy at that place ; and there also he served three congregations in 
his capacity of clergyman, but supporting his family mainly, as formerly, 
by the revenue derived from his labors as a teacher. His method 
of conducting the academy did honor to his talents. It grew under his 
care into a highly respectable establishment, and obtained a high char- 
acter in that district of country. This reputation, and the thorough- 
ness of the course of instruction pursued, was the means of elevating the 
academy into a c(jllege, under an ample charter, with power to confer 
degrees in th(! usual foi-iu in like iustitulinns. This enlargement called 



68 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

for more of the machinery of education than the institution had before 
possessed ; and the library of a celebrated professor, who had lived the 
latter part of his life in Northumberland, and not long before had died 
there, together with his philosophical apparatus, were procured for the 
college. 

In the meantime, the subject of this notice continued at Dickenson 
College. His aptitude for the languages and early instruction had 
placed him far ahead of all competitors in that branch. He was so 
thoroughly master of the Latin that he could write it with facility, per- 
haps as well as his mother tongue ; and, though indifierent to, and never 
troubling himself about, college honors, his superior ability and acquire- 
ments were not questioned. His instructor in chemistry was Doctor 
Cooper, formerly a judge in the interior of Pennsylvania, then Professor 
of Chemistry* in Dickenson College, and afterwards President of Co- 
lumbia College, South Carolina, whither he had been invited by the 
state, and known throughout the country for his extensive literary and 
scientific attainments, and with whom our student was always a favorite. 
He graduated at Dickenson in 1812, but taught grammar-school in the 
college till 1813, when he returned to Northumberland to aid his father 
in his college duties, now become onerous by the addition of numerous 
students, and the increasing duties of the enlarged institution. 

Shortly after this, his father's health began to fail. He became dys- 
peptic, and this disease continued to enfeeble and distress him up to the 
period of his death, which occurred in 1815. And few men have lived 
more beloved, or died more lamented. 

His virtues and many excellencies of character did not perish ; they 
left their impress long on the community in which he had lived, and 
have descended upon his son — a goodly inheritance, and one that passeth 
not away. 

The well-known acquirements of the son pointed to him, young as 
he then was, (not twenty years of age,) as the successor of the father, 
and he was accordingly, soon after the death of the former, appointed 
principal of the college ; and in this new situation the extent and 
variety of his duties go to show how much may be accomplished 
where resolution and will are combined with ability. He graduated the 
classes, delivered lectures on chemistry, taught astronomy and mathe- 
matics, Greek and Latin, and studied law, all at the same time. 

His law instructor was Charles Hall, Esq., late of Sunbury, Northum- 
beiland county, a gentleman eminent in the profession, under whom he 
was admitted to the bar in 1817, and commenced practice the same 
year. 

His professional career, which has since proved so successful, com- 
menced in Bloomsburg, Columbia county, Pennsylvania. There he 
continued, however, but a short time, for we find him settled in Dan- 
ville, in the same county, in 1818. Here his practice rapidly increased, 
and was soon extended to four or five of the surrounding counties, and 
there he continued till he was appointed, by Governor Wolf, President 
Judge of the District Court of Alleghaaiy county. 

And here it may not be improper to state certain events, very well 
known and justly appreciated in the place and neighborhood where they 
took place, and which evince the excellent qualities of heart of the sub- 



ROBERT C. GRIER, OF PENNSYLVANIA. 69 

jcct of our note. At his futher's death, he found himself the oldest of 
many bnnhers and sisters, including himself, eleven in number, most of 
them young and helpless; and they, together with his widowed mother, 
were entirely dependent upon him for their support. Well and faith- 
fully did he perform the duties that this condition of things called for. 
He possessed but little of this world's goods, but he had health, energy, 
talent, and a profession ; but he bent himself to the task, and with these 
materials, fairly brought into requisition under the guidance of a sound 
and affectionate heart and a willing mind, he overcame all difficulty. 
Ilis brothers were well and liberally educated, and settled in business 
or professions. His sisters lived with him till they were married ; and 
his mother, till she died. As a son and brother, as well as in all sub- 
sequently formed domestic relations, he has been distinguished by the 
kindest and tenderest affections ; and no man is more beloved by his 
farmilv and friends. If it be true that the recollection of kind and benevo- 
lent actions warms the heart into peace with itself, then may our friend 
well rejoice in the past, and look to the future in the thankfulness of hope. 

Bui to our narrative. His brothers and sisters being all married and 
settled in life, he had leisure to look out for himself; and in the year 
1829, he married ]\[iss Isabella Rose, the daughter of John Rose, Esq., 
a native of Scotland, who emigrated to this country in HOS. Mr. Rose 
had been admitted to the bar in Europe, but never practised, or sought 
practice here. He was a gentleman of education and accomplishments, 
and possessed of considerable estate. He bought a beautifully-situated 
farm on the banks of the Lvcoming Creek, about two miles above 
Williamsport, in Lycoming county, upon which he resided till his death, 
and which now belongs to Judge Grier. This stream is celebrated for 
the fme trout with which it abounds, some distance from its mouth. 
And this we mention more particularly, as the judge makes an annual 
excursion to his farm and fishing-ground, to enjoy his favorite vocation 
of trout-fishing. He early became a disciple of Isaac Walton, and is 
faithful to his preceptor to this day. Nothing is suffijred to interfere 
with this excursion: and when the month of June arrives, he is sure 
to find his way to the creek, with a few select companions, and all the 
necessary apparatus for catching and cooking his favorite fish, together 
with all manner of generous accompaniments to give zest to the luxury. 
This fishing-ground is in the midst of the eastern ridges of the Alle- 
ghany Mountains, into which the stream penetrates, and is surrounded 
with dense forests in their primitive state. The invigorating air of the 
w'oods, the beauty and wildness of the scenery, contrasted with that to 
which he is accustomed, the continued exercise and pleasure of the 
sport, sometimes not without adventure, all have their charm. And 
the judge returns to his professional duties, somewhat sunburned and 
weatherbeaten, to be sure, but with recovered powers, renovated frame, 
and clear head, ready for another year of labor. 

His appointment to the District Court of Alleghany county was made 
May 4th, 1838. He removed to Pittsburgh in October of the same 
year, and resided in Alleghany City till September, 1848, when he re- 
moved to Philadelphia, where he continues to reside. 

On the 4th of August, 1846, he was nominated, by President Polk, 
one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, in the 



10 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

place of Judge Baldwin, deceased, and was unanimously confirmed by 
the Senate tlie next day. 

The professional career of Judge Grier, while at the bar. was marked 
by high integrity of purpose, and tidelity to his client, qualities not un- 
usual in the profession ; but with him there was a benevolence not so 
universal, and generosity towards those who sought his services with but 
limited means of remuneration, that procured him many clients of this 
description ; and for many has he gone through with repeated and ardu- 
ous conflicts, without money and without price. 

In the conducting of his case, he was not apt to trouble himself much 
about its mere technicalities, and despised all the tricks and catches of 
the law ; he regarded mainly the principles involved in it, and arguing 
it upon this basis, his views were clear and logical, and always deliver- 
ed with great distinctness and force. 

While presiding in the District Court at Pittsburgh, he had the can- 
fidence of all the bar, which was one of the ablest in the state. There 
was a deference paid to his decisions highly honorable, and an attach- 
ment to himself personally, not often found to exist in the same degree 
between the bar and the bench. If the cause before him had merits, 
its advocate had nothing to f^ai-; if doubttal, he was sure of a fair and 
candid hearing ; but if without merits, or if tinctured with fraud, it be- 
hooved iiim to take care of his case, for he was sure of neither aid nor 
quarter I'rom the court. 

With the jury, his charge was everything : they had entire confidence 
in his integrity and learning, and knew that he only aimed to arrive at 
justice. Their verdict was responsive to his instructions. And when 
exception was taken to his charge or opinion, nothing was withheld by 
selfish regard to pride of opinion, or petty doubt as to the unnecessary 
action of a higher tribunal. His view of the law was fairly stated, and 
sent up as delivered, without addition or diminution, upon its own 
merits to stand or fall. All men are liable to err, but he who feels the 
consciousness of power within himself, fears not, but rather desires the 
examination of his opinions by those who may have the power, together 
with the responsibility, of sustaining or reversing them. Every judicial 
opinion affects the property, the re|n!tation, or the person of some one, 
to a greater or less extent; and a faithful judge would rather rejoice in 
the detection of his error, than that it should be suffered to exist to the 
injury of another. 

Since the elevation of Judge Grier to the Supreme Court, his judicial 
reputation has become the common property of the country, and is well 
established.^ His discussions bear testimony to this, and these are in 
the hands of every professional man. They disclose extensive learning 
and research, and a persevering seeking of the principle lying at the 
basis of the particular point under discussion — and this discovered, it 
is never lost sight of ; and the conclusion arrived at is pronounced w'ith 
the boldness of a fearless spirit, regardless of all consequences, save the 
one aim of bringing the truth to light, and giving effect to the law. His 
argument will stand the test of strict scrutiny; is clear in its statements 
and details, marked, perhaps, more by the qualities of common-sense, 
clearness and strength, than by any effort after ornament, though l)y no 
means deficient in illustration, which is readily supplied by hs well- 



ROBERT C. GRIER, OF PENNSYLVANIA. 71 

stored mind. The \voiks which contain the evidence of Judge Grier's 
judicial reputation are acces!<ible t<j every une — an exaniiiiatiun of these 
would swell this notice far beyond the limits assigned to it, and would 
require more time and ability than the wi iter has to bestow. He leaves 
it, therefore, to abler hands. 

Ilis elevation to the distinguished place he now holds, has worked no 
alteration in the man. The same modest worth that maiked his youth 
and maturity, continues to adorn his riper years. The same kindness 
of disposition to all, the same attachment to friends, and affection for 
those dependent upon him : a lover of his country, and, of the very ne- 
cessity of his nature, a religions man, and therefore a Christian — long a 
member of the church in the principles of which he was educated, and 
some time participating in its government — but liberal in his views, re- 
garding the spirit rather than the letter of his creed. Happy in his 
domestic relations, in the atfections of an amiable and excellent wife, in 
the love of his children, in the attachment of his many friends, and 
highly honored, as he is, by his country^ — his life affords an example of 
the triumph of right principles, unshrinking integrity, persevering indus- 
try, and tidelity to truth and to himself, over dithculties of formidable 
character, and from which a mind of less energy would have shrunk. 

" Heaven does with us as we with torches do, 
Not liiiht them for ourselves : for if our virtues 
Did not go forth of us, 'twere all the same 
As if we had them not." 



■I 









JiuLSlUce ®f fttt-e .§Tiipreinm© Co'ititH ref tihi© U.3 



Sng ^-far Bioaraphioal Sketches oFEniinenzAnviruMi:. 



BIOGRAPHICAL LETTER FROM JUSTICE CATRON, 

OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Dear Sir, — Some days since I received your letter of the 15th in- 
stant, in which you express a desire to publish in your magazine a 
sketch of my life, with a portrait, &c. 

For your kindness and good opinion, be pleased to accept my thanks. 
I do not believe there is a man living who could give you any tolerable 
account of my early life, except myself; and when the incidents were 
narrated, they would only prove, what Campbell says of Lord Mans- 
field — that when he came up from Scotland to Westminister School on 
a Highland pony, the chances were a billion to one against his ever 
being Chief Justice : and I can safely say, that quite as many chances 
stood in the way of my being a Supreme Judge, when of the same age, 
as was his Lordship at the time he wended his solitary way south, with 
his pony as his sole companion. Your readers would only learn that I 
had been reared on a farm, and been flogged through the common schools 
in Western Virginia and Kentucky, and then had had the advantages 
of such academies as the western country afforded ;* humble enough in all 
conscience, and where little else than Latin, and the lower mathematics, 
was added to the common school training ; that with this amount of ac- 



* As I am one of the few who have any recollection left of these schools, it may 
not be out of place to give some account of them. They usually consisted of a single 
teacher, and he a clergyman, having occasionally an assistant. Six days in thn 
week were devoted to teachingf ; nor were the schools crowded with pupils. At 
the head of this description of teachers stood James Priestley, an Englishman, and 
nephew to Doctor Joseph Priestley. He first taught at Bairdstown, Kentucky ; then 
at Danville, and concluded his labors at Nashville, Tennessee, wheie his academy 
was denominated Cumberland College. I believe he was an Eaton man. His 
scholars commenced and ended with the dead languages, in which this teacher 
greatly excelled. Other branches were taught of course ; but Latin was the great 
foundation laid in by his pupils ; in this they were trained as if in spans and yokes, 
for four years at the least. How it happened that he turned out so many good 
writers and speakers, I never could tell ; but certainly, for the number taught, both 
in Kentucky and Tennessee, tke proportion of successful men was remarkably 
great. 

Others followed the same plan. I was taught by the Rev. James Witherspoon, 
a Presbvterian clergyman, who had been a professor of languages. He also relied 
on the dead languages as the main basis of education ; was well qualified to teach 
ihem, and could have preached in Latin as well as English. A distinguished law- 
yer and friend advised me to study English well, and rtot waste so much time on that 
which he said all lawyers forgot very soon. It struck me as sound advice, and I 
named to my teacher that I wished to study the English grammar. He replied that 
the thing was unheard of; that to be a good Latin scholar was to be a good English 
one ; furthermore, that he had never opened an English grammar. But I insisted, 
and we commenced toirether with Murray's grammar and key. It took me some 
three weeks to memorize the necessary parts, and when the time came for an effort 
at parsing, I took it for granted that I was ahead of my teacher ; but in this I found 
mvself greatly mistaken. We had the edition of ]\Iurray from which he had re- 
jected the objective case. This, Mr. W. declared, was amistakc — saying Murray 



74 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

quired knowledge, I read history, novels, and poetry; grounded myself 
well, as I thoiKjkt, in Virginia politics ; that I read everything that came 
to hand as it came — Fielding, Smollet, Sterne, Goldsmith, and up 
through Tom Paine, Hume and Gibbon, Everything, or nearly so, 
then to be had in the country, of history, ancient and modern, was read, 
and much of it, with a devouring appetite. Prester John, Peter the 
Hermit, liiehard and Saladin, Falstatfand Frederick, were all jumbled 
up together. It is due, however, to say, that preparatory to taking up 
Blackstone, I cai'efully re-read Hume's History of England, with Smol- 
lot's and Bisset's continuations; Robertson's Charles the Fifth, and also 
Gibbon's Decline and Fall ; and made extensive notes on each, which I 
thought exceedingly valuable at the time. They were on large fools- 
cap, bound in pasteboard, and all told were, when packed on each other, 
two-thirds as high as a table : nor did I doubt that my condensed Gib- 
bon would go Ibrth one day to the world in print; nor do I now re- 
member at what time it was used to kindle the office fire; but this was 
its fate* With my old friends, Pope, Shakspeare and Sterne, I had 
to act, as I have often done since with my snuff-box — hide them from 
myself. But just then the veritable History of New- York, by Diedrich 
Knickerbocker, made its appearance amongst us young men of the 
West, which 1 did not attempt to resist then, nor at any time after- 
wards. And it is well I did not, for the matchless humor of that pro- 
duction has stood me in hand many times before juries, who got into 
the dangerous mood of an inclination to cry. when the clear interest of 
my client was that they should laugh. Most lawyers know the immi- 



miglit as wfiU have stricken out the corresponiling accusative from the Latin gram- 
mar ; anil he inserted the rejected case with his pen. When we set about parsing 
he had no difficulty whatever; and showed the dilTercnce between the EngHsh and 
Latin structures of the respective languages with an ease wholly incomprehensible 
to me, then or since. And I am compelled to admit, that good English scholars 
may be made without reading English grammar ; but why it is so, I do not know. 
Certain it is, tiiat Priestley's scholars were ecjual to any ever educated in the western 
country ; and he would as soon have thought of making "Paine's Age of Reason" 
a class-book as Murray's Grammar. 

Several of these schools were denominated colleges, but they were conducted 
alike, high and low. Some of our young mer were sent to Princeton, Yale and 
Harvard, and returned with great prospects, as they and their friends supposed, but 
success did not attend them ; they were no match for those educated at home ; and 
parents were taught the important truth, that where a boy is expected to spend his 
after life, and to succeed as a man, there he should be educated — if it can be done ; 
so that a knowledge of men, and. the habits of the people mong wliom he is to live 
and act, may be acquired as his scholastic learning progresses. One educated 
abroad, may return with stringent ideas of a wise economy, and a well-stored mind 
from books ; his theories may be very good ; but in nine instances among ten, he 
is a dissatisfied man, that complains of everything at home, and who finds a carping 
temper to lie a sorry handmaid in the war of life. 

* All men of experience must be aware, that the style of banter indulged in here, 
means more than merely to amuse ; that its object is to present an attractive pic- 
ture of the means employed by a vigorous and ambitious youth to become an intel- 
liirent man under circumstances where he had to rely, for his course of reading and 
study, almost exclusively on his own judgment, unguided by a single man of general 
reading and matured scholarship. Placed in his circumstances, few would have 
done better, or judged more wisely, and thousands would have done worse. He 
had to read much, to the end, of learning where to begin and how to study : nor 



LETTER FROM JUSTICE CATKON. 



(.J 



nent peril a felon is in, when a jury begins to be sorrowful over liis 
case, and when burglary, arson, robbery, forging bank-notes, or passing 
them, and several other crimes, not now^ amounting to much, were 
capital adroit shifts to evade the pithy sentence of " Sus. per Col.," 
were deemed allowable. 

The Bible, being the common reader of my early schools, of course I 
knew almost by memory. Of geography I learned more than most 
men, and know more now. With this confused mass of selftaught 
knowledge, I commenced to read law in April. 1812, in the State of 
Temiessee. Up to this date, I had never been sick a day, or hour, and 
had a frame rarely excelled ; one that could bear ardent and rigorous 
application for sixteen hours in the day, and which was well tried for 
about four years at something like this rate. Late in 1815, 1 tried my 
chances at the bar, and succeeded; certainly in the main chance of get- 
ting fees ; but then I had a good deal of worldly experience, and availed 
myself of the cases in court, throughout a heavy circuit, of a retiring 
brother lawyer and friend who was elected to Congress. To his busi- 
ness I attended, taking the unpaid fees ; and as he had a side in almost 
every important cause, " I run from the score" at the start, and which 
my elder brethren liberally applied for a year or two. Having served 
a campaign under General Jackson, and brought home some army popu- 
larity, the legislature of Tennessee elected me attorney for the govern- 
ment in my circuit, when my law license had the sand on it. The 
courts were full of indictments for crimes, from murder down. Here 
I had to fight the battle, single and alone, and to work day and night. 
No man ever worked much harder, I think ; my circuit judge was an 



were his labors greatly wasted on this first confused effort. As his mind enlarged, 
and the prospect lighted np and widened, he discovered, day by day, that his knowl- 
edge was in confusion ; a compound of facts and fictions that needed systematic 
adjustment; tliat his books nmst be read over again in classes and each class by 
itself; beginning with the more solid, and concluding the regular and steady course 
with the lighter works : and in doing this, great advantage was derived from the 
first reading. A hundred pages as an ordinary task could be gone through in the 
day, with a review in the evening of leading portions on which the narrative was 
founded ; and then, too, the day's work was abridged on ])aper, when the mind was 
heated up to a high state of vigor, and the comjiosition aided by an employment 
of the author's language and style, which naturally on that occasion excluded all 
others. Every reader of sound experience knows that so much cannot be accom- 
plished by any young man on first reading a book. 

Much lias been said to the prejudice of Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall 
of the Roman Empire, because of its supposed tendency to imbue the youno mind 
with ideas of infidelity to the Christian religion. When I read this author twice, 
and after a fashion abridged his matter, my mind was as impressible as the wide do 
main of new suow that now lies before me ; (*) I believed him to be the greatest his- 
torian of his nation, if not the first the world had produced. He had mv unlimited 
confidence ; and yet, no one impression was made on me that he questioned the 
truths of Christianity ; and when, long after, I heard him charged with infidelity, 
and chapters of his history referred to. for evidence of the fact, these chapters were 
re-examined and studied, subject to the criticisms of clergymen who aided me ; and 
still I feci confident that (iibhon is only misunderstood — that his narrative of facts, 
detailing violent contests among the ancient Fathers, and in councils of tlie church, 
have been attributed to him as opinions of his own, which amounted to an infidel 
creed. 

(*) Written at the Capitol, 21tli Dec, 1801. 



76 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

excellent criminal lawyer, and being partly Scotch, always stood firmly 
by the state, and leaned strongly against the culprit: so that I got on 
very well ; but often with an arrogance that would have done credit to 
Castlereagh, for blundering in my law, certainly, if not bad grammar. 
Like his lordship, I was given to white waistcoats and small clothes, 
and drew pretty largely on the adventitious aids furnished by the 
tailor. 

The lawyers then traveled the circuit from county to county, usually 
of a Sunday. Each man that was well appointed, carried pistols and 
holsters, and a negro waiter with a large portmanteau behind him. All 
went on horseback. The pistols were carried, not to shoot thieves and 
robbers, but to light each other, if by any chance a quarrel was hatched 
up, furnishing occasion for a duel, then a very favorite amusement and 
liberally indulged in — and the attorney-general for the circuit was ex- 
pected to be, and always was, prepared for such a contingency. He 
managed to keep from fighting, however. His equipments were of 
the best, with a led third horse now and then for the sake of parade. 
Many are the anecdotes I could furnish of nights on the roadside, at 
country taverns, where the corps of lawyers halted short of the county 
town, and made as free with whisky punch and empty bottles as did 
our Irish brethren at a Galway assize about the same time : nor were 
games at cards overlooked. But the law of the circuit was, that no 
duel should come of a brawl on these occasions; if any one happened 
to suffer from a smashed bottle, he took it and made up on the spot. 

One station 1 filled when at the bar, amounting to almost a mono- 
poly ; it was that of drawing bills of exception. As a writ of error 
lay in all cases, civil and criminal, on a refusal to grant a new trial, 
often the entire facts had to appear with the judge's charge on them. 
We then took few notes of evidence, having to do more in a day than 
could be done in a week., if all that witnesses said was tediously written 
out as the trial progressed. The trial being ended, then the exceptions 
were required at once ; perhaps on the last day of the term. The 
v/riting was always done at the bar, and in the confusion of business. 
So adroit did I become by constant practice, that I could for hours 
write down and detail what every witness had deposed, as little annoy- 
ed by bustle and noise as if entirely alone, being so utterly absorbed 
as not to know what was going on. But usually on ending the work, 
found a leg asleep, and sometimes came down, exceptions in hand, just 
when " please your honor" had come out on the sound leg, and a shift 
was made to the numb one. 

I defended in many criminal cases after I removed to Nashville ; was 
in the defence very generally in the commercial causes; had much to 
do with chancery practice, and actions of ejectment, and was decid- 
edly famous for enforcing the seven years' act of limitations in real 
actions ; and, after divers defeats and rugged contests, had my revenge 
by entire success; not so much because of any merit of mine, but for 
the controlling fact, that John Haywood was the leading judge in the 
Court of Errors, and who had been a champion on my side of the ques- 
tion for many years before he went on the bench ; and presently 
William L. Brown removed to Nashville, and he, too, was enthusiastic 
on the same side. This gentleman was of my own age, and by far the 



LETTER FROM JUSTICE CATRON. ►J'J 

ablest logal debater then at the bar; but his frame was too weak for 
his great vohiine of brain ; he fell into spasms by over-Gxertiuii, and 
died. 

These are rough details, that will do little credit to one in so grave a 
place as I now fill, and especially not in the cities at this day. In the 
days of Spencer, Kent and Thompson, they would have been under- 
stood ; they set out under similar auspices, and believed that vigor and 
practical sense came of circuit practice and experience. That 
the fortunes of such men as Jackson, Clay, Polk and Benton, and 
five hundred others in the West, depended on knowledge of men 
and things thus acquired, I personally know ; nor could John Mai'- 
shall, William Pinkney, or Daniel Webster, have succeeded much 
without it. 

I went to Nashville, (where I have resided since) at the end of the 
year 1818. In March, 1819, the town and country were overwhelmed 
with misfortunes in trade, and a general bankruptcy, not known before 
or since in that country. By the end of that year, the courts had two 
thousand causes in them at the least, and I had more business than I 
could do in the town itself, and rarely left it. My success, profession- 
ally, was all that could be desired, and I had far more character than I 
deserved, owing mainly to uncommon capacity for labor, and much 
ambition to excel competitors. The Nashville bar was at that time 
inferior to none in the United States in contests involvina; conflict- 
ing titles tti lauds ; and possessed uncommon ability in most depart- 
ments of their profession. The action of ejectment had drawn them 
there. 

\a December, 1824, I was elected by the legislature one of the Su- 
preme Judges of the State, which office I held until 1830, having been 
then beaten and turned out on a new election, under the amended con- 
stitution adopted by Tennessee in that year. I had acted as Chief 
Justice for some six years before I was superseded. Of the Tennessee 
decisions, whilst I was on the bench, nothing need be said, as they are 
all reported in the volumes of Mr. Yerger. 

The old pastime of dueling was overthrown by striking a lawyer 
from the rolls, in the case of Smith vs. The State, (I Yerg. 228,) in 
which I delivered the opinion, and set forth my circuit experience ; and 
for which homily to my brethren, 1 was scorched with many a racy 
sarcasm ; such as, that a sinner who had carried blank challenges in 
the crown of his hat. and slept with his pistols under his head, was a 
very proper man to turn saint and lecturer, to put down a vice he so 
well understood in all its bearings. But as we have not had a duel 
since, nor a challenge, so far as I know, I still wear the laurels coming 
of the good advice so unscrupulously set forth to my brethren. 

On the 4th of March, 1837, I was nominated to the Senate by Pre- 
sident Jackson as a Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States, 
where I have had some character as being familiar with the laws ap- 
plicable to cases involving conflicting titles to western and southern 
lands. 

As to my yiode of speaking at the bar, I have no very exact recol- 
lection. It was not methodical, tolerablv fluent, sometimes stormy, 



YS SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

and often sarcastic, which habit cost me rather dear on one or two oc- 
casions. One thing I recollect very well, that, after being on the bench 
twelve years, and then attempting to speak in court, I was as much 
embarrassed as at the outset; and under an obvious necessity of 
learning the art over again, if I intended to employ it, which I never 
did. 

After I was a lawyer, and a successful one, I east about me for a per- 
manent place of residence, taking a range from New-Orleans to Balti- 
more, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ; and, in the end, sat down where 
I felt certain of success, where good fortune attended me, as it has 
throughout, from early manhood up. 

I never was a candidate for any political place, nor held any office, 
except those above referred to, of solicitor and judge. For many years 
past, I could not have been elected to anything by the people. With 
the floating masses I had nothing in common : 1 punished many of them 
for crimes, and always severely. They feared and disliked me. Among 
the great mass of propen t.y-owners, thousands have been alienated by 
decisions adverse to their interests. The losing party naturally dislikes 
the judge who decides against him, and his family and friends take 
sides; whereas, the party that wins, and all connected with him, pro- 
mulge aloud, that no judge, not corrupt, or a dunce, could have decided 
otherwise; and so it falls out that half of a neighborhood, for a single 
decision, turn enemies, and the other half do not stand by the judge as 
friends. This process will pervade a whole country in a dozen or 
twenty years, when, during the time, the same judge has made thousands 
of decisions affecting almost every interest and every influential family 
in the community. A judge may have great cogency and influence with 
very many of the most intelligent class ; but if he be a stern and un- 
quailing official, it is not in human nature that he should be a popular 
man ; so at least, has been my experience. 

I have entertained some ideas on legal training for the bar and bench 
that are perhaps peculiar, which I will state. The difficulty of under- 
standing the laws of England, as expounded by courts and stated by 
commentators, is not very great. Thus they presented themselves to 
my mind ; but in their application to the various transactions of life lies 
the trouble. He who best knows how most things are usuallv done, is 
best qualified to deal with the right and wrong about which men go to 
law, and to apply old principles to new circumstances ; and so he is the 
best judge of what a new statute means. To judge accurately of these, 
deep practical knowledge is by far more valuable than deep law learn- 
ing, necessary as both are to the lawyer. He who knows mere law, 
but is without common sense to comprehend the facts to which his law 
may be applied, is a sheer pedant in his profession ; and therefore it 
is, that we so often find a walking index of .a lawyer not equal, as a 
judge, to a vigorous county court magistrate who never read a law- 
book. But force a young lawyer to battle his way up on the circuit; 
to go and see the land surveyed, and the corner trees blocked before he 
tries his ejectment; to go into the workshop, or steamboat, or counting- 
house, and see how the thing is done his client is lawing about, and he 
will beat a dozen of his equals in capacity, crammed with law to the 



LETTER FROM JUSTICE CATRON. "79 

throat. Many instances of the kind have I witnessed. On one occa- 
sion, when just beginning, I said to a really great advocate: '• Why, 
Mr. G., how in the world do you intend to get along in this dreadful 
case of murder ; you have not even a law brief prepared ?" " Well," said 
he, " what book is Mr. Attorney -General going to rely on to prove it 
murder'?" "Mainly on Espinasse, Bacon, a.id Hawkins, I think," said 
I. "Ah, yes," was the reply, "FU find enough, just above or just be- 
low, for my purpose, I warrant you." And so he did ; and acquitted 
his client, who ought, undoubtedly, to have been hanged. This was 
one of the very best drilled circuit lawyers I ever knew. He first 
studied and comprehended all the facts and motives involved in his 
case, and then thought over how society appreciated them ; and lastly, 
searched for law to sustain the case his facts made. And pretty much 
like him were Pendleton, Marshall, Spencer and Parsons ; and we have 
many such among us now, (a little spoiled by love of parade,) who com- 
bine that common sense rough training has taught, with a deep knowl- 
edge of law. 

1 insist on thorough legal training and constant study ; but object, 
whether it comes from the bar or bench, to piles of references and 
figures, formidable as a treasury report, gathered from the index, and 
having no value in the particular case ; and which parade of authorities 
is notoriously an address of vanity to ignorance and pedantry, that ever 
reminds one of two grains of wheat smothered under two bushels of 
chaff; such being the plain condition of the little law that is applicable. 
How slow we all are, in such cases, to find out how merry our brothers 
make themselves at our expense, is marvellous. No doubt, I have been 
a common sufferer, as I often deserved to be when at the bar, and 
especially, since I have acted as judge. The practice deserves ridicule, 
and gets its full share. 

I could quite readily have had these few and trifling materials 
changed into the form of an ordinary memoir, and put in the third per- 
son, presenting an appearance (but nothing more) that some other hand 
than my own had done the work. This manner, however, is so stale, 
as to deceive nobody ; certainly not my own profession ; and therefore, 
I thought it fairer to write you a letter and risk the charge of egotism, 
for which I care not much ; whereas, I should badly wince at a charge 
of having resorted to the shabby contrivance, and of an attempt to skulk 
behind it, if mendacity or boasting was alleged. If such thing should 
happen here, the critic would allow that the author stands confessed in 
the singular pronoun, abundantly often for all purposes of recognition 
and responsibility. 

In conclusion, sir, permit me to say, that for several days after I re- 
ceived your letter, no intention existed of complying with your 
request; but on consulting with my brother-judge of your circuit, 
he insisted that the object of your magazine required a different course. 
To procure another to write for me, was not possible within the period 
limited by your letter, as no one knew much about me, short of my 
residence in Tennessee; and then the idea that a lawyer pi-actising be- 
fore me, and an intimate friend, should sit down and coolly and truly 
discuss my conduct for thirty years, and my character and capacity, 
could not be entertained for a moment. Such a memoir could hardlv 



80 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

be more reliable than an epitaph, or an eulogy, over the recent dead. 
I therefore threw ofTthe foregoing slight sketches, which, with my vigor- 
ous memory of past incidents, cost me not much trouble, and little time. 
The matter may be readable, if not instructive ; nor will it indicate 
anything that is not true. 

Most respectfully. 

Your obedient servant, 

J. Catron. 
Washington. Dec. 24. 1851. 




; 




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ZATE CHIEF JW 



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Shetch&s ofJ^mt/t^ 



HON. PETER HITCHCOCK, 

LATE CHIEF JUSTICE OF OHIO.* 

The subject of this memoir was l)oni in the town of Cheshire, in 
the county of New-Haven, and State of Connecticut, October 19, 
1781. Like other youth of New-England, he had the advantages of a 
common school education, such as they were near the close of the 
last century ; and when of suitable age, turned his attention to classi- 
cal studies. At the age of seventeen years, he entered Yale College, 
as a member of the Sophomore class, and graduated in 1801. The 
pecuniary circumstances of his father were limited, so much so, that 
in order to acquire the means of defraying the expenses of an educa- 
tion, he was compelled to rely measurably uj)on his own exertions. 
For this purpose he spent his vacations, and occasionally some por- 
tions of the college terms, in teaching school. In consequence of 
this embarrassment, he did not succeed as well in his college studies 
as might otherwise have been expected, although his character as a 
scholar was reputable. His fellow-students regarded him as a young 
man of excellent habits and judgment, a careful and accurate, rather 
than a brilliant student. He did not so particularly attract the atten- 
tion of the faculty as to excite on their part anticipations that his 
future course would do eminent honor to his alma mater. In this re- 
spect, his case was not unlike those of the late Henry Baldwin and 
Daniel Webster, in their retirement from college. Like those emi- 
nent men also, by his subsequent life, he demonstrated most clearly, 
that his instructors had signally failed to appreciate his intellectual 
capacity and power. 

After leaving college he made choice of the law as a profession, 
and engaged in its studies, in the spring of 1802. These studies 
were pursued with private instructors, and mostly in the co,unty of 
Litchfield, in his native State. He was admitted to the bar in March, 
1804. His examination for admission evinced that his preparatory 
studies had been pursued with diligence and attention, and that he 
was well qualified to engage in the practice of his profession. He 
immediately opened an office in his native town, and continued in 
practice there for about two years, with fair success for a young man 
well qualified, diligent, and attentive to business. In 1805 he was 
married to Miss Nabby Cook, of his native town, who still survives 
him. Although his prospects for business in Connecticut were as 
flattering as could have been reasonably expected, yet he was fullv 
aware of the difficulties which a young lawyer must necessarily en- 
counter, especially where the profession is crowded, and the business 
principally in the hands of old practitioners of established character. 
He therefore concluded to " try his fortune" in a new country, and in 

* A brief sketch of this distinguished jurist was published in "Biographical 
Slcetches of Eminent American Lawyers," in Juno, 18.52, but he has since de- 
ceased, and a more extended notice is deemed due to his memory 

6 



82 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

the spring of 1806, removed with his family to Geauga county, in the 
State of Ohio, and settled on the farm in the township of Benton, on 
which he resided until his death. 

The State of Ohio was at that time truly a new country. It was 
almost entirely a wilderness, although in some portion of it settlements 
had been commenced, and here and there might be found an occa- 
sional cabin. The entire population did not much exceed one hun- 
dred thousand. It was extremely difficult to get from place to place, 
as the roads, where there were any, were almost impassable, and fre- 
quently the traveller was guided by nothing better than a blazed or 
marked line through the forest. That portion of the State in which 
Mr. Hitchcock located himself, and which is known as the Connec- 
ticut Western Reserve, had, perhaps, fewer inhabitants in proportion 
to the extent of territory than most other parts of the State. The 
Western Reserve was at that time divided into two counties, Trumbull 
and Geauga, the latter having been organized in the spring of 1806. 
Their population did not then exceed live or six thousand, nor did it 
increase with much rapidity until after the close of the war of 1812. 
Western New- York was, at that time, a new country, and its territory 
had first to be supplied with inhabitants, before it could be expected 
that many emigrants would venture as far west as Ohio. The West- 
ern Reserve, which, in 1806, constituted but two counties, is now di- 
vided into ten, and parts of it are attached to three others. In 1850 
its population exceeded two hundred and ninety-six thousand, and that 
of the entire State had increased to nearly two millions. 

Judge Hitchcock was not disappointed in his expectations in re- 
moving to Ohio. True, law business, as might have been expected, 
considering the sparseness of the population, was small, and for seve- 
ral years his time was somewhat divided between his profession and 
the " clearing up" and cultivation of his farm. During several differ- 
ent seasons also, after his arrival in Ohio, he was engaged in teach- 
incr school. But notwithstanding these interruptions, and the disad- 
vantages of a residence at some distance from the county-seat, he had 
his full share of what legal business there was. His practice con- 
stantly increased with the increase of population and the improvement 
of the country. Nor was it confined to one county, but extended over 
the entire Reserve ; throughout all of which, he soon acquired the re- 
putation of a leading lawyer. In the practice he was successful, and 
had the satisfaction of believing that his clients were well satisfied 
with his management of the business committed to his care. In con- 
ducting this business he was compelled to trust principally to the 
knowledge of the law acquired in his preparatory studies, as books 
were scarce in that part of Ohio, and he had not much time for 
readino-. Few now remain who can speak of his early efforts at the 
bar from personal knowledge ; but the records aiid files of the causes 
in which he was employed, sufficiently indicate that he was then a 
well-read lawyer, familiar with the leading principles of the science, 
and possessed of an acute, practical, discriminating, and logical mind. 
His cotemporaries describe him as one that came to the trial of his 
causes well prepared ; skilful in eliciting and arranging his proofs ; 
of familiar and persuasive eloquence, united with a happy faculty of 



HON. PETER HITCHCOCK, OF OHIO. 83 

taking a natural view of the most intricate and complex case, and so 
simplifying it, as to render it easily understood, and clear to men of 
ordinary comprehension ; and withal possessed of talent sufficient to 
grapple, successfully, with any amount of new and unexpected matter 
of law or fact, that should happen to be thrown suddenly upon him, 
and handle it, apparently, with the same ease that he managed a case 
composed of the simplest elements. To all this he added the moral 
influence of a high character for candor, personal integrity, and fair- 
ness. 

Perhaps the safest opinion of his intellectual capacity and power 
may be formed from the fact, that he held a leading position at the 
bar, when it embraced men of signal ability, with whom he was 
brought into daily conflict. The grave is now closed over most of the 
eminent lawyers that attended the courts within the circle of his prac- 
tice, between the years 1806 and 1819. The present generation know 
but little of the treasures of knowledge and talents brought to the 
West by those energetic and enterprising pioneers. Tradition some- 
times speaks of them. Still the present generation is inclined most 
erroneously to arrogate to itself superior ability in proportion to its 
greater facilities. On hearing a remark claiming this superiority, the 
reply of one of the survivors of that day, himself a competent judge, 
was, " You are mistaken ; I tell you there were giants at the West in 
those days." Perhaps this reply may be deemed a little extravagant ; 
but the names of those who were wont, at that time, to attend the 
courts in Trumbull county, furnish, at least, an apology for it. Hon. 
Elisha Whittlesey, and the late Judges Tod, Pease, and Goodenow 
were residents, and the Hon. Benjamin Tappan, Philip Doddridge, 
Charles Hammond, Justice Baldwin, of the United States Supreme 
Court, and several other prominent lawyers, were frequent attendants. 
Most of these have departed this life, and have left a posthumous fame 
for learning and ability, not often equalled by those whose reputation 
is acquired at the early age at which theirs was. Of the survivors it 
is unnecessary to speak. Their high standing and eminent ability 
are well known to their fellow-citizens. These men would have been 
ranked with the proudest intellects that adorn the profession, in what- 
ever section of the country they had lived. 

It was in a new country, not well supplied with books, with the 
cares of a pioneer, and the charge of a young family upon him, and 
pitted against such men, that young Hitchcock was obliged to struggle 
up the hill of fame, in those primitive times ; and successfully did he 
struggle, and secure to himself a proud eminence. It was under such 
auspices, with but a mere trifle of inherited property, that he was 
obliged to earn his daily bread and provide for the education oi his 
increasing family, and to bear, in the mean time, his full share of the 
current burdens of society, at the same time that he provided the 
means of support for his declining years : yet he was always found 
undiscouraged and equal to his task. An active and efficient member 
of society and of the church, he was there, no less than when repre- 
senting the people in the legislature, in Congress, and in convention, 
or while discharging the duties of chief^justice of the State, the same 
self-possessed, imposing, but modest, unassuming, unofficious man of 



84 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

influence ; the same unobtrusive individuality of character and ster- 
ling rectitude of conduct, in all stations of life, marked him as a man 
of more than ordinary mould, and failed not to secure the respect and 
confidence of his fellow-men, in whatever capacity they became ac- 
quainted with him. 

Judge Hitchcock possessed a strong physical frame, and, during a 
considerable portion of his life, especially during the last twenty years 
of it, was favored with good health, and was capable of uncommonly 
severe mental endurance. His head indicated the possession of a 
massive, finely-developed brain. The calm self-possession, evenness 
of temper, firmness of purpose, and self-reliant judgment which he 
uniformly exhibited, would have been indicated by nature's endow- 
ments ; yet he had improved upon these natural faculties by constant 
habits of sobriety, personal restraint, and untiring industry. 

In early life he acted efiiciently with the political party that brought 
Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe to the Presidency ; and was one of 
the most successful advocates of their principles in Ohio. This course 
in politics, and his eminence at the bar, soon brought him prominently 
before the people ; and in 1810 he was elected a representative to the 
General Assembly of the State. In 1812, he was elected to the State 
Senate; and in 1814 re-elected. He served during both terms of two 
years each, and was speaker of that body for one session. As a member 
of the General Assembly, whether in the house or in the senate, he oc- 
cupied a prominent position, and exerted his full share of influence. 
In the fall of 1816, at a warmly-conlested election, he was returned to 
the Congress of the United States, and took his seat as representative in 
that body in December, 1817. Before the close of Lis congressional 
term, he was, in 1819, by the legislature of Ohio, elected a judge of 
the Supreme Court of that State, for the constitutional term of seven 
years. He was re-elected to the same oflice in February, 1826, in 
March, 1835, and in January, 1845 ; and finally retired from the bench 
on the 9th of February, A. D. 1852, at the advanced age of seventy 
years. He had been returned and served in the State Senate during 
the term between 1833 and 1835, and was again for one session its 
speaker. The fact that he entered public life in 1810, and continued 
to occupy, for a period of forty years, the most important stations 
within the gift of the people of his adopted State, is an eloquent com- 
mentary on his character, expressive of their decided opinion of his 
merits. It tells better and more forcibly than words can express, how 
his long and faithful services were appreciated by those who best knew 
their Avorth. Nor was this abiding confidence less creditable to those 
who so cheerfully continued it, than to the worthy recipient of so much 
public favor. Public applause was never won by him with any of the 
artifices by which some acquire an evanescent popularity and become 
great men for a day. He never practised any of the arts of the de- 
magogue ; and if he possessed that power, he scorned to use it, but 
regarded it as a faculty never to be put in requisition. His judicial 
station, so ably filled for twenty-eight years, was one illy calculated 
to secure an available popularity, in a community where party lines are 
closely drawn. The judge who, like him, does his duty, his whole 
duty, and nothing but his duty, and thereby earns and wins golden 



HON. PETER HITCHCOCK, OF OHIO. 85 

opinions from tlie learned and the good, must, by the very act of per- 
formance, sufficiently thwart the course of the dissolute, corrupt, and 
criminal portions of community to secure their enmity ; and he neces- 
sarily incurs the hazard of their holding the balance of power between 
the contending parties of the day, and of their using it under the fake 
pretence of avenging a real injury. 

Moreover, as has been stated. Judge Hitchcock was originally a 
republican of the Jeffersonian school, and, from his arrival at full age 
until the formation of new parties, or the re-construction of old ones, 
subsequent to the election of John Quincy Adams, had uniformly and 
efficiently acted with the Republican party. Although personally pre- 
ferring the election of that gentleman to the Presidency, he had, in 
1823, presided at a meeting in Geauga County, which nominated An- 
drew Jackson for that office ; and had been as freely berated for what 
were called his radical notions, at an early day, as were the active 
supporters of Jackson at a subsequent period. He had strenuously 
sustained the war of 1812 ; and for the other supposed political sins of 
the old republicans, his opponents taxed him with a partisan's full 
share of responsibility. He, however, in common with many of his 
political friends, advocated the election of John Quincy Adams, and 
sustained his administration. He insisted that he could never discover 
wherein that administration differed materially from those which pre- 
ceded it, which were admitted to be republican. He ever afterwards 
acted with the Whig party, because he believed there was more of the 
spirit of genuine republicanism in that than in the opposing party, and 
that its measures, if adopted and persevered in, would conduce to the 
best interests of the whole coifttry. He was conservative in his feelings 
although not opposed to judicious reforms ; but in eflecting them, 
thought gradual, rather than great and sudden, changes most prudent. 
With the agrarian movements of the present day he had not the 
slightest sympathy. 

His political course subsequent to 1824 (especially as those of his 
early associates who attached themselves to the Democratic party 
charged him with a departure from the true faith) placed him in a po- 
sition to receive the decided opposition of that party, whenever an 
opportunity was furnished to poliiicians to make him sensible of their 
power. Hence arose the two interruptions of the continuity of his 
judicial service. But these things did not aflect him. On his return 
to the bench, he bore himself with such dignity and fairness, and 
evinced such ability, as won from those of the profession who acted 
politically against him, opinions as favorable and an esteem as warm 
and abiding as those entertained for him by his political friends and 
associates. His brethren upon the bench who, at diflerent times, had 
thus displaced him, could never discern the least evidence that the 
occasion had left upon his mind anything to render the'r position as 
associates less acceptable to him or less pleasant to themselves than it 
would have been if they had been brought upon the same bench 
under auspices the best calculated to produce friendship. This is 
decided language ; but it is the testimony of one who has means of 
knowledge possessed by no other man, and who speaks from that per- 
sonal knowledge. It is what could be said only of a liberal, generous, 
noble mind. It is saying much for the magnanimity of one who for 



86 SKETCHES OF EiMINENT AMERICAN'S. 

years was regarded by all classes as a leading spirit of the Whig party 
in Northern Ohio ; and who had long been a shining and conspicuous 
target for the shafts of political opponents of all grades. 

That this favorable opinion is not the expression of a single friendly 
individual, may be shown by a single illustration, and its introduction 
will exhibit this distinguished citizen again acting in a most important 
station. A practical test of public opinion, in regard to him, was fur- 
nished in the election of delegates to the Convention for the revision 
of the Constitution of Ohio, in the spring of 1850. The district in 
which he resided was entitled to three delegates, and was pre-emi- 
nently the stronghold of Free-soilism. That party outnumbered 
each of the others by some 500 or 1,000 voters. Actuated by what, 
under the peculiar circumstances of the case, was considered by 
the Whigs and Democrats an illiberal policy, and contemplating, as 
was supposed, measures extremely obnoxious to them, the Free-Soilers 
put in nomination a full ticket of men of their own party. This course 
on their part produced an agreement of the other two parties to support 
a Union ticket, composed of sound Whigs and Democrats — the Whigs 
had the greater number of voters, and of course a superior claim to two 
of the three delegates ; but inasmuch as their excess of numbers was 
not in that proportion, in order to compensate for the deficiency, they 
very generously offered to the Democratic party the selection of the 
Whigs that should be placed on the ticket. The offer was accepted, 
and tiae Democrats, with great unanimity, named Judge Hitchcock, the 
great leader of their political opponents, and the man of the most in- 
fluence among them, as their first choice. He then held the ofBce of 
Chief Justice of Ohio, and with much reluiitance accepted the nomina- 
tion. He, however, did so, and, with the whole ticket, was elected in 
spite of a severe and bitter opposition, receiving the support of almost 
every regular Democrat in the entire district. That was a proud dav 
in the life of a toil-worn public servant, and it is believed that its re- 
sults were not less important to the people of the State of his early 
adoption, than honorable to him. 

Judge Hitchcock took his seat in the convention at the time it as- 
sembled, and was active in the discharge of his duties. He performed 
his full share of labor iu the most important committees, examined 
carefully every subject that underwent discussion, frequently 
took an active part in the debates, and was conspicuous among 
the most useful and valuable members of that most distinguished 
body of men. He returned to his constituents after the close of 
his labors, and had the signal good fortune to learn from them that 
they were well satisfied, that his course had fully justified their pre- 
ference in selecting liiui. They were satisfied that his constant aim 
had been to present for the action of the people an instrument as per- 
fect in itself, and as well calculated to promote the happiness and pros- 
perity of the present, and future millions of Ohio, as could be formed ; 
and that he had pursued that object with a singleness of purpose, that 
had elevated him entirely above the level of a partisan, to the dignity 
of the experienced, practical statesman. 

It was not to be expected that he would agree in all things with the 
majority, nor did he. When others differed, he heard them attentively, 



HON. PETER HITCHCOCK, OF OHIO. 81 

and used his best efforts by argument to modify their views, and to 
produce unity of action, by reconciling conflicting opinions. The 
working of the new constitution will soon test the question how far he 
was right, and wherein a departure from his counsels was the result of 
a prudent foresight. He entered the convention a man of large expe- 
rience, of clear, methodical mind, and probably better understood the 
defects of the old system than any other man in Ohio. In his record- 
ed votes, and the reported debates, he has left ample means by which 
posterity can form a correct judgment upon his every act in that 
body. 

He was decidedly in favor of transferring directly to the people the 
election of the judiciary, and of all State and county officers. The 
conviction of the policy of a change in this respect had been pro- 
duced in his mind by careful observation of the operation of the old 
system. He was opposed to reducing the term of office to the judges, 
believing that public policy, as well as the interests of persons and 
property, required its increase rather than its diminution. He would 
have much preferred that it should have been fixed at fifteen years, 
with a prohibition against re-election. With the arrangement of the 
judicial system he was not entirely satisfied. He regarded it as quite 
problematical, whether the contemplated legal reforms would be found 
of practical use, especially in the State of Ohio. It had been the 
efTort, both of the legislature and the courts of that State, to simplify 
legal proceedings as much as possible ; technicalities had been in a 
great measure discarded, and brevity in pleadings was encouraged. 
True, the common law form of the action of ejectment was retained, 
but in practice no evil resulted from it, and in no form of action were 
the rights of parties litigant more easily ascertained and determined 
than in this : under the rules of court, the issue was so made up, that 
the great question, and indeed, generally, the only question, was that 
of title, or the right of possession. Under the new constitution, all 
distinction in the forms of action and proceedings at law and in equity 
have been abolished. Whether this experiment will conduce to the 
ends of justice, time and experience must determine. Many compe- 
tent men and intelligent lawyers begin to think, that the Chief Justice 
was far from erring in his anticipations on this subject, and to sjeak 
of the necessity of modifying the judicial system, and the code, to pre- 
vent the failure of both. Doubtless, a future trial should be made be- 
fore attempting any change, and perhaps the result will be entirely 
satisfactory. 

Judge Hitchcock favored decidedly the provisions of the new con- 
stitution recognizing the public debt, and providing for its payment, 
and limiting the power of the legislature to incur additional liabilities ; 
also, the different clauses requiring the equal taxation of all the pro- 
perty in the State ; and the incorporatioii of the principle of individual 
liability of stockholdt^rs in corporations ; although he probably would 
have preferred to have excepted from the operation of this rule corpo- 
rations designed especially for purposes of internal improvement. 

In reviewing the course of Judge Hitchcock «is a legislator, the fu- 
ture student of the history of Ohio will find some things worthy of 
particular note. He will find votes of his at an early date, that give 



88 SKETCHES OF EMIiVC.'iT AMERICANS. 

evidence of a well-informed and mature judgment, far in advance of the 
age ; and that its dictates were by him fearlessly acted upon then, when 
they run counter to the opinions of both political parties ; and after- 
wards, with his characteristic independence, acted upon, when the 
Whig party, with whom he was associated, very generally opposed 
them. History teaches us, that Governor St. Clair owed much of his 
unpopularity to his efibrts to induce the territorial legislature to de- 
fine and limit in their charters the specific grants of corporate power 
intended to be conferred upon the artificial bodies which they created. 
His vetoes of bills, deemed defective in this respect, are supposed to 
have hastened the period of a change from the Territorial to a State 
government ; and not only to have excluded from the constitution the 
veto power, but to have caused the introduction into that instrument 
of that peculiar clause which, for many years, was construed by the 
republicans as conferring upon any association, for a lawful purpose, 
a constitutional right to demand a charter ; and such a charter, as 
would confer upon them all the powers that might be exercised by the 
individual in his private capacity. 

Acting under this conviction, the legislature had been liberal in the 
unrestricted grant of corporate power prior to 1810 ; and it was con- 
sidered a heterodox notion, a departure from the true republican faith, 
to attempt to trammel the powers of a corporation by legislative restric- 
tion, when Judge Hitchcock entered the house as a member. He, 
however, met the question fearlessly, and successfully maintained that 
the legislature had that power, and that duty required its exercise, by 
a careful scrutiny of all such enactments, and a strict definition of the 
powers intended to be conferred. 

He also labored to secure in such grants a clause reserving to the 
legislature the right to modify or repeal the charters, whenever de- 
manded by a due regard to the public welfare. This proposition found 
but few supporters in 1810. It was far in advance of the democratic 
confidence in the people at that day. It was an original movement in 
Ohio, and was regarded as ultra-radical and impracticable by both 
political parties. The Federalists, of course, regarded it as entirely 
unsafe to trust corporate rights to the action of subsequent legislatures. 
But the experience of forty years produced a great change in the public 
mind, and the efiect was to induce the two millions of people in Ohio, 
in 1850, to embody in their organic law the rejected principle of 1810. 
Its introduction was more than acceptable to Judge Hitchcock. At 
an early day he considered it but the dictate of prudence to thus pro- 
vide a remedy for incautious, hasty, and ill-advised leaislation. He 
was early convinced that it was a measure of safety, necessary for the 
proper protection of the public, and this conviction of his early man- 
hood had never been shaken, but on the contrary had increased in 
strength, as his years and experience matured his judgment. 

He was anxious for, and labored to introduce a clause requiring 
compensation to be made for any individual injury that might be 
caused by the exercise of this reserved power, and claimed that such 
clause would be but the declaration of a principle of natural justice, 
which was unalterable, and of moral force at all times. In this he 
failed, but yielded with commendable grace to the force of numbers. 



HON. PETER HITCHCOCK, OF OHIO. 89 

He did not regard the absence of such clause as an insuperable objec- 
tion to the instrument, but expressed the opinion that the rejected pro- 
vision was one that obviouslv addressed itself to the sense of justice, 
inherent in the bosom of every member of coramimity, that no legisla- 
tive assembly could ever be long sustained in a v^'anton repeal, injurious 
to private property. He deemed it hardly probable that a future legis- 
lalure should coolly disregard a fixed principle of right, or deliberately 
refuse a remedy for a positive wrong ; and utterly improbable that the 
people of Ohio would ever, knowingly, sustain them in so doing, or 
hesitate to adopt the appropriate means for redressing such a wrong, 
should it ever be perpetrated. 

In the opinion of Judge Hitchcock, there were other defects in the 
consiitution submitted for adoption by the people in 1851, and some 
provisions with which he was not entirely satisfied ; still he voted for 
it, believing it to be an improvement upon that of 1802, and was anx- 
ious for its adoption by the people, and used his influence to secure 
that end. 

The labors of Judge Hitchcock in the Convention did not prevent 
the performance of his usual circuit duties on the bench, nor his silting 
as a member of the court in bank ; but the two offices occupied his 
whole time, and made that year of his public life one of continuous 
toil. He had, however, the consciousness of having labored faitlifully 
for the performance of his entire duty to the public, and this was to 
him an ample reward. 

Important and useful as were the services of Judge Hitchcock in 
other departments of public life, it was upon the bench of the Supreme 
Court of Ohio that his severest and most untiring efforts were put forth. 
And he, who states the full extent of his merits as a jurist, is liable to 
be suspected of presenting the overwrought panegyric of a too partial 
friend, especially by those not familiar with the nature and extent of 
the duties performed by him during the long period of his judicial 
service. Those living in the older States know but little of the labors 
required of one placed in his position, and are illy prepared to appre- 
ciate the disadvantages under which he must act. The State of Ohio 
was comparatively new and thinly settled in 1819. All the earlier 
States, and many foreign countries, liad contributed largely to its 
population. This tide of immigration had contimied to flow in, and at 
the time of his leaving the bench had, with the natural increase of 
population, swelled the number of inhabitants to about two millions. 
The State which he began to traverse, with two-thirds of its surface 
in its native forests destitute of the first signs of civilization, had be- 
come densely populated, was traversed by rail-roads, canals, and other 
public improvements, with thriving villages thickly interspersed over 
a rich and hiyhly cultivated country, which embraced several cities, 
whose growth and prosperity far exceeded the most sanguine hopes of 
any who had early prophesied favorably of the prosperity of the West- 
ern country — of course the changes were rapid, and the habits, feehngs, 
and opinions of the people were far from being settled and uniform. 
The task of a judge among such a people is far different from that ol 
one in an old and established community, where the habits of the peo- 
ple have become fixed ; the laws have been reduced to a regular sys- 



90 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

tern, and by time and experience adapted to the state of society; and 
where the masses have all been trained in the same school of 
morals and policy, and comprehend alike the same subject. In such 
a community, legislative, executive and judicial action naturally as- 
sumes the consistent form of a settled policy, produced in the wisdom 
acquired by experience, instead of being, not unfrequently, the result 
of sanguine theory, or bold speculation, crudely attempted to be reduced 
to practice, without the experience necessary to give it practical form 
to foresee its evils. The duties of the judges of the English courts 
require them to possess learning, integrity, justice, industry, astute 
minds, and thorough knowledge of the people of England, and of her 
public policy, but they have a beaten track to tread, upon which the 
learning of centuries has shed beams of vivid light. Even the Lord 
Chief Justice has to pioneer few unexplored regions of thought, where 
he can derive no aid from precedent well settled, and acquiesced in 
for ages. He is rarely vexed with crude and ill-digested statutes, the 
work of minds not familiar with the old law, the supposed mischief, 
or the means of providing a proper remedy, or (what is still more em- 
barrassing) of a mind more partial to some provision of the German, 
French, or some other foreign code, than to the English law. A State 
that changes from a forest to a flourishing community, that increases 
its numbers more than twenty-fold in fifty years, mainly by an im- 
mense immigration, embracing a fair share of the enterprising c itizens 
of every civilized country of the world, necessarily requires time to 
settle her own policy upon a consistent plan, to regulate her own laws, 
and to bring the different elements of public thought to act together in 
harmony. Every man of intelligence comes to a new State more or 
less attached to some of the institutions, and forms of legislation, and 
civil procedure of the country of his birth, and will strive, until better 
informed, to incorporate in the legislation of the State of his adoption 
whatever he thought worked well elsewhere. Influences of this kind 
have frequently broken in upon the common law basis of legislation in 
Ohio, and disturbed the harmony of the system — sometimes, perhaps, 
for good ; sometimes otherwise. But this unsettled state of the public 
mind, this constant change, necessarily increases the labors of the judge. 
Let a man of the highest and most cultivated intellect, and of the most 
untiring industry, be placed in the court of last resort, to expound statutes 
framed under such auspices, and to decide the numerous other ques- 
tions necessarily arising ; require him to hold court six months upon 
the circuit, and six weeks in bank each year ; and to pass upon more 
questions thus arising every twelve months, than any judge in England 
would be required to decide in twice that time ; and compel him when 
in bank to write out and deliver to the reporter his opinion by the morn- 
ing alter he made a decision, and he would soon learn how to appreciate 
the labors of Judge Hitchcock as a jurist, and to award to him the 
credit justly his due, upon comparing the reports of his judicial deci- 
sions, prepared under such circumstances, with those of men of stan- 
dard ability, found in other law reports. 

It was amid this unsettled state of society and law, and this con- 
stant change, and under circumstances such as have been described, 
that he vvas called upon to discharge his duties as judge. He labored 
faithfully to introduce system, to sustain and enforce those principles 



HON'. PETER HITCHCOCK, OF OHIO. 91 

of law sanctioned by the wisdom and experience of ages, to adapt 
judicial proceedings to the character and wants of the people, and to 
give permanencv and consistency to the jurisprudence of the State. 
In any emergency, he seemed to bring to his aid intellectual strength 
and research adequate to the occasion, and his success was not only 
highly satisfactory, but highly honorable to him. 

Ohio gave unequivocal evidence of her opinion of his sterling worth 
and great litness for judicial station, by continuing him so long in her 
service in that capacity. The careful reader of the twenty volumes 
of Ohio Reports, who reflects upon the natm-e of his labors, and the 
circumstances attending them, will never condemn his judgment. To 
him these volumes are a monument of enduring fame. They exhibit 
the solid structure of his mind. They show him, as he was, a man 
well versed in the elementary principles of law, anxious to do right, 
and to give plain reasons for his own belief that what he did was 
right, without making any pretence of superior ability, or aiming to 
embellish his opinions by any of the ornaments of fine .style. That he 
never erred, is what can be neither said of him nor any other man. But 
with him an erroneous decision was a very unusual occurrence. Some 
years since. Chancellor Kent, whose opinion is entitled to the highest 
credit, speaking of the first eight volumes of reports containing Judge 
Hitchcock's early decisions, said they exhibited a sound and healthy 
administration of the law in Ohio, which compared favorably with the 
jurisprudence of the older States. 

On the bench Judge Hitchcock was laborious, systematic, punctual, 
and attentive. He dispatched business with peculiar facility, although 
not without deliberation. His official life was one of constant labor, 
but he was rarely, if ever, in a hurry. He readily ascertained the 
points in a case which were decisive of its merits, and his mind seemed 
at once to reject every thing that was immaterial. He read the ma- 
nuscript pleadings, evidence, and arguments submitted, with great 
ra])idity, and never contented himself until he had read every paper 
connected with a case. His memory was retentive, and by a single 
reading of the papers in a chancery case, however voluminous, he 
seemed to acquire a perfect knowledge of tlieir entire contents, and of 
the whole matter in controversy, and would, almost uniformly, state 
with accuracy the exact point upon which the case turned, and name 
the evidence that bore upon it. This faculty enabled him to concen- 
trate his whole mind upon the question in hand, to recur in debate with- 
out loss of time to the proof that would correct or strengthen a first 
impression, and, united with his habit of persevering with an investiga- 
tion once begun until he had finished it, enabled him to turn ofi', well 
done, a mass of business that more sprightly but less methodical minds 
would not be able to dispose of as well in the same length of time. 

He understood the great object of the whole machinery of courts 
to be the enforcement of justice between man and man, and thought, 
that if all were so instructed as to entertain correct notions of right 
and wrong, and would observe the sound moral rule of doing to others 
as they would that others should do to them, there would be very little 
need of courts of justice. His anxious desire ever was, that strict 
justice should be done between oarties litigant, and to arrive at this 



92 



SKETCHES OF EMI.VEXT AMERICANS. 



end, he perhaps sometimes too much disregarded technicalities. He 
had very little reverence for a rule, the justice of which he could not 
discern. If, in a given case, a technical rule was sought to be used to 
bring about a result which conflicted with his strong sense of justice, 
he was apt to suspect it was misapplied, and seek some way to avoid 
its force, and would invariably resist its application, until convinced 
that there was no way of escape, but by unsettling the rules of esta- 
blished law. In the estimation of some, this characteristic of his 
mind was a defect. If so, it was an amiable one. It existed in the 
minds of Chief Justice Marshall and Theophilus Parsons to an equal 
degree. And whatever counsel, in the excitement of the moment, may 
think, suitors will ever appreciate the judge whose aim is to have jus- 
tice done in all cases that come before him. Such a judge will ever, 
of necessity, suspect either the soundness of the rule itself, or the pro- 
priety of its application to a given case, whenever he sees it working 
an unjust result. Regarding justice as the paramount object of the 
court, he will be loth to defeat that object, and will never suffer it to 
be done where he has the power of preventing it, without departing 
from the known rules of settled law. 

A iirm, consistent thinker, relying on his own judgment, and care- 
fully surveying his ground before forming a conclusion, it was no easy 
matter to efiect a change in his opinion, when once decidedly formed. 
However highly he might appreciate the ability of one who should 
differ from him, still that difi'erence, unless sustained by fact or law, 
which undermined the pillars upon which he had based his own con- 
clusion, never seemed to shake his confidence in the correctness of his 
own judgment. Opinions, with him, were not a matter of choice, but 
the result of study and reflection, and both were miiformly put in re- 
quisition and exercised, until a definite and satisfactory conclusion be- 
came the result. To move him afterwards from the ground he had 
assumed, it was ever necessary to understand his reasoning thoroughly, 
and to show him that, as to some one fact or legal proposition, he was 
mistaken ; and to enable one to thus meet, and, if possible, overthrow 
him, he would frankly expose the whole basis of his conclusion, and 
if met by a fair exposition of a false position, would readily see it and 
yield to its force, without an eftbrt to sustain a first impression by re- 
sorting to insufficient reasons. He never, on the bench, exhiltited the 
weakness of a drowning man, catching at whatever his hands could 
reach, for self-support. He brought nothing to his aid, save what 
he regarded as reliable. This characteristic of a powerful intellect 
made him a very influential member of the court at all times, and his 
habitual courtesy and candor rendered him not less agreeable than re- 
liable as an associate. 

Much the most laborious and important of his duties during his 
twenty-eight years of judicial service were performed upon the circuit. 
Of the extent and character of this service, none except those imme- 
diately concerned, or connected with him, can form any adequate or 
correct opinion. No report of such cases was ever made ; none can 
now be made — yet they embraced, probably, forty-nine out of every 
fifty causes that he ever passed upon. Almost uniformly these cases 
were studied by him with the same care as those determined in bank • 



HON'. PETER HITCHCOCK, OF OHIO. 93 

and in pronouncing his circuit opinions orally, he took pains to state 
clearly all the questions made, and the views entertained by the court 
upon each, and seldom left a cause without satisfying the counsel con- 
cerned, and all familiar with it, that he, at least, had investigated the 
matter until he thoroughly understood it, even though he were unable 
to convince them that he had escaped error in its determination. 

In committing his opinions to writing, Judge Hitchcock was not al- 
ways, perhaps, the most happy, not because he was incapable of indit- 
ing a close, terse, and pointed opinion, but because he could seldom take 
the time requisite to prune, condense, and weigh as would be desirahle, 
the exact force and power of the language used. The necessity for this 
hasty preparation of opinion arose from the constant pressure of busi- 
ness in the Supreme Court during the whole of his long period of ser- 
vice, and from the fact that a law of the State required manuscript 
opinions to be forthwith handed to the reporter, on the making of a 
decision. This statute often deprived the judges of the requisite op- 
portunity of revision, and is believed to have been without a parallel 
in any other State. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, naturally 
inducing a habit of writing with great rapidity, and its legitimate ef- 
fect upon his style, the opinions of this eminent man still exhibit him 
in a light that will, in the estimation of sound lawyers everywhere, 
stamp him as a jurist of no ordinary ability, and give him a high rank. 

It was felt by the bar of Ohio, and well said by one of its members, 
in their behalf, on announcing to the court in session at the time of 
his decease, the sorrowful event, that since the last adjournment of 
that court, a most distinguished man had fallen, one whose death crea- 
ted a void, whose departure was a loss to them, to the State, and to 
the cause of justice. In the death of such a man, society is bereft cf 
a most valuable member, and has just cause to mourn. 

During the last term of his official service in the court in bank at 
Columbus, in 1852, the bar of Ohio furnished a highly complimentary 
testimonial of their estimate of his merits. They procured an eminent 
artist to paint for them a portrait of the venerable judge, with a view 
to have it placed in the court-room, where his countenance had been 
so long familiar, and where his ability had been so conspicuous. It 
of course represents him as he appeared when about to retire from 
public life, at the advanced age of seventy-one years, more than forty 
of which had been faithfully spent in the service of the State. The 
feelings which prompted honorable and liberal-minded men to endea- 
vor to perpetuate, and preserve in their hall of justice, a striking re- 
semblance of one generally esteemed, and eminently distinguished in 
that high tribunal ; of one who through a period of twenty-eight years 
had discharged the duties of his exalted station patiently, faithfully, 
vvithout fear or favor, and uninfluenced by any illegitimate considera- 
tion, may be readily appreciated. It was a tribute of aflection and re- 
spect, from his professional brethren, which they regarded as having 
been nobly earned. No one in Ohio more richly deserved a similar 
tribute. He had done more than any other man in the State to ele- 
vate the character of the profession, and to establish the jurisprudence 
of the State on a scientific, sound, practical basis. In private life, and 
in the publ'c stations which he had so long and so ably filled, his life 



94 



SKETCHES OF EiMIXENT AMERICANS. 



had furnished a practical example, well worthy the emulation of the 
young men who should succeed him, that few great men had equalled, 
still fewer had excelled ; and when the venerable judge had nearly ac- 
complished his public labors, and was about to retire from the stage ol 
public action, those who knew him best felt the force of this truth, and 
hence this spontaneous token of its acknowledgment. It was but a 
modest tribute, nevertheless it went to the full extent that the modesty 
of the honored subject of the compliment was willing to permit. None 
of his predecessors had been thus honored, and his delicacy of feeling 
rendered him reluctant to assent even to this. 

Judge Hitchcock was esteemed by those who intimately knew him, 
not less as a man and a Christian, than as a jurist and a civilian. In 
all his social and domestic relations, he exhibited qualities of heart 
and action that ever endeared him to those brought into near contact 
with him ; the memory of which, stealing with sweet fragrance over 
their minds, will often awaken the feeling of fond regret at the bereave- 
ment they have sustained. 

Descended from a Puritan stock, and reared amid the influences 
which, in olden time, were wont to cluster around the well-ordered 
New-England home, he imbibed in childhood the principles of sobriety 
and uprightness which adorned his subsequent career, and formed the 
basis of that distinguished confidence which was in after life repos- 
ed in him, even by his most decided political antagonists. His 
youth was marked by general correctness of deportment, and he enter- 
ed upon the scenes of public life with those moral and industrial 
habits which, in connection with elevated aims and fair ability, 
give a sure prestige of success and eminence in any honorable 
vocation. 

The moral and religious sentiments inculcated under the paternal 
roof became with him, in riper years, matters of fixed and controlling 
conviction ; hence when, long before he professed a personal interest 
in the Gospel, his lot was cast in a new settlement, he freely and de- 
votedly gave his influence and aid to rear and support its institutions. 
His house was the home of the pioneer missionary whenever one hap- 
pened to pass that way. When no minister was present, he was wont 
to aid in sustaining Sabbath worship, by reading sermons, and on seve- 
ral occasions, when but a single professor of religion was present, and 
he perhaps a diffident youth, he persuaded him to lead in prayer, and 
himself conducted entire all the other exercises of the day. 

On the 4th of March, 1832, at the age of 51 years, (and just twenty- 
one years before his decease,) he made a public profession of religion, 
uniting with the Congregational Church in Benton, of which he re- 
mained, until his death, an esteemed and efficient member. In the 
discharge of the duties pertaining to this relation, he was equally strict 
and faithful, as in the discharge of those of his official life, and pre- 
sented a model of exemplariness which is rarely exceeded. When at 
home, nothing but infirmity in himself or family was ever permitted to de- 
tain him from the services of the sanctuary, and other stated or occasional 
gatherings for Christian culture, or the promotion of the general inter- 
ests of morality and religion, and usually he was prompt to render such 
counsel and aid as the case might require. A distinguishing element 



HON. PETER HITCHCOCK, OF OHIO 95 

in his Christian, as well as judicial character, was a steadfast integrity 
in obeying his convictions of duty. Though no stranger to deep reli- 
gious sensibility, the titful impulses of emotion were not needed to 
arouse him to action. 

He was the hearty and liberal friend and patron of the leading be- 
nevolent enterprises of the day ; and though sometimes reproached 
with an unduly cautious, and obstinate conservatism, few have had 
more nearly at heart the best interests of humanity, or more sincerely 
wished success to every judicious etlbrt for its elevation and improve- 
ment. 

In deportment, he was reserved and unassuming ; in taste and feel- 
ing opposed to artificial parade and show ; a lover of republican sim- 
plicity of style and manners ; but at the same time, a pattern of gener- 
ous and hearty hospitality. By many who viewed him at a distance 
he was regarded cold, and unsocial ; but a more intimate acquaintance 
disclosed a heart glowing with all the genial sympathies of love and 
friendship. The needy and afflicted ever found in him a judicious 
and kind benefactor and counsellor. His reproofs and sarcasms some- 
times fell upon the misdoings and follies of those around him with 
withering power, but usually his intercourse with others was marked 
witli great comity, and a tender regard for their feelings. Ever ready 
to bestow his inlluence and active aid to promote the personal and 
social welfare of those around him, his removal has left a vacuum in 
the neighborhood circle of his late residence, which will long be pain- 
fully felt. 

His social attachments were unselfish, enduring, and practical ; and 
everything within his power which the subjects of them might need, 
was ever freely and cheerfully bestowed ; and the gTatification he 
evinced when the welfare of friends was thus promoted, presented a 
beautiful illustration of the Divine saying — " It is more blessed to 
give than to receive." 

His domestic aflfections were especially strong and tender. The 
bosom of his well-ordered and intelligent family was emphatically the 
earthly home of his soul, his cherished and earnestly-coveted retreat 
from the cares and toils of public lii'e. In the relations of husband 
and father, he was ever the I'aithful, considerate, and affectionate coun- 
sellor, guardian, and guide. Controlling his children with a mild yet 
firm discipline, savoring not less of reason and love than of authority, 
he won to himself, in an eminent degree, not only their respect and 
veneration, but their confidence and love. Deeming preparation for 
practical usefulness in life the best patrimony he could leave them, he 
directed his eflbrts in their behalf not to the amassing of wealth, but 
to the bestowal of that mental and moral discipline and training which 
should quahfy them to be the artificers of their own fortune, and sus- 
tain with success and honor the responsibilities of life. And in this 
he had his reward. He lived to see his seven surviving children, 
three sons and four daughters, all settled in life, and occupying posi- 
tions of respectability and usofulnoss, and, what was yet more grateful 
to his heart, all professed followers of the Saviour. The two eldest of 
these sons were educated at Yale College, and one of them is now a 
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in one of the judicial districts of 



96 



SKETCHES OF EMIXEXT AMERICANS. 



tho State ; the other a minister of the Gospel, and pastor of one of the 
churches in Coknnbus, Ohio. The youngest son is a farmer, and oc- 
cupies the old homestead. 

Full to ov'erflowing was the cup of earthly happiness of the venera- 
ble father, when, in later years. Providence permitted a I'amily gathering 
around his hearth-stone, to mingle mutual sympathies and congratula- 
tions, and join in prayer and praise to the Father of Mercies. Never 
will those thrilling interviews and seasons of prayer be forgotten by 
any who were favored with the privilege of participating in them. From 
the heart of his children never will be effaced the memory of paternal 
fidelity, tenderness, and wisdom, with which he watched and guided 
their early ways, until thej' were prepared to assume for themselves 
the responsibilities of life ; and painfully will they miss the counsel 
which, in their riper years, they were wont to seek at his lips. 

He was privileged not to outlive his activity and usefulness, but to 
fall at the post of duty, in the unabated vigor of his strong intellect. 
Early in December last, he repaired to Columbus to attend the annual 
session of the Supreme Court. Ele was retained in some cases of 
importance, and one in particular which required profound effort in the 
preparation of the argument. His intense application developed and 
aggravated disease of the liver, to which he was predisposed ; and 
that induced ulceration of the larger intestines, which was the imme- 
diate cause of his death. The symptoms, however, were not suffi- 
ciently striking to alarm, or cause him to suspend his labors, until it 
was too late for remedial aid. 

His debility gradually increasing, he left Columbus February 21st, 
and arrived at his son's, the Hon. Reuben Hitchcock, in Painesville, 
the same day. Though extremely anxious to reach his home, his fail- 
ing strength forbade it. From this time he declined rapidly. Stupor, 
and slight wandering of mind supervened, and prevented his having 
much conversation with his friends. On the morning of the 4th of 
March, the entire family having arrived, Mrs. Hitchcock, with some 
difficulty, aroused him to consciousness, and remarked, " Our children 
are all with us now." He replied, " Oh, my children ! all be Chi'is- 
tians." This was his last utterance. A farewell more characteristic 
of the Christian father, or more worthy of the occasion, could not 
have been chosen. After this, he lingered in great agony until about 
two o'clock, P. M., when he gently fell asleep in death. 

His remains were conveyed to Benton ; and on the following Sab- 
bath, a large and deeply-aflected concourse of people attended a fune- 
ral service at the church where he had been accustomed to worship, 
and followed him to the grave. 

The light of his active usefulness and living example in Church 
and State is extinct ; but a precious legacy remains, for " the memory 
of the just is blessed." 

The news of his decease, as it spread through the State, produced 
a deep sensation, as it called forth such expressions of regret, of affec- 
tionate remembrance, and of esteem, as might be expected on the 
death of so great and so good a man. In the principal cities in the 
State and counties where courts were in session, meetings of the bai 
were held, addresses made, and appropriate resolutions adopted. 



HON. PETER HITCHCOCK, OF OHIO. 9*1 

t 

The resolutions adopted in Mulhenning county were presented to 
the court, by Judge Birchard, Avho had in 1842, been the opposing and 
successful candidate in opposition to him for election to the Supreme 
Bench, and who afterwards served as associate with him for several 
years. On moving that these resolutions be entered on the journals 
of the court, judge Birchard, among other remarks made, bore the fol- 
lowing honorable testimony to the character of the deceased : — 

" I feel that in the loss of such a man society has cause to mourn. 
It has been bereft of an experienced, learned, able jurist ; of one 
patient, careful, and untiring in his investigations, and as I think, of 
groat integrity. In the varied relations which he and I have occupied, 
placed as we have been, in opposition to each other by our political 
friends as candidates for the honors of the Supreme Bench, and radi- 
cally difTering, as we often did, upon many of the exciting political 
questions which have agitated the people of the Union within the last 
twenty years, and changing, as you are aware we have, our relative posi- 
tion from the bar to the bench, and from the bench to the bar, and finally 
for a series of years being brought into intimate relation as members 
of the same court, 1 have had means of knowing Judge Hitchcock, 
such as few men possess. I speak not to create fame for the dead, 
that was unmerited in life — there is no need of that. The proceedings 
of the Legislature when he was a member, and of Constitutional Con- 
vention, bear some evidence of the ability of the man, and the rirst 
twenty volumes of the Ohio reports, will carry down to posterity full 
and ample testimony of his learning, his sound judgment, and patient 
and careful industry as a jurist ; to him a memento of fame more last- 
ing than monuments of brass or marble. 

" In recurring to the years of our acquaintance, now more than a 
quarter of a century, I cannot recall to mind an act of the great man 
who has fallen, that would tend to mar the beauty of his character, 
public or private ; I know of none. A man of strong intellect, he na- 
turally was fixed in his opinions, when once deliberately formed. But 
I ever lound him patient, and cool in investigation, free to consult, free 
to consider the suggestions of others, free to trace out a point of difTer- 
ence, free to place another in full possession of the exact position 
upon which he predicated a conclusion ; and if the ground of his argu- 
ment ever failed him, he was always of too proud an intellect to at- 
tempt to sustain his favorite conclusion by seizing a false premise. In 
fine, he was a man, that not only invariably aimed to do right, but 
his mind was so formed, as to be admirably well calculated to come 
to the knowledge of the right. 

" So long as his own convictions of duty were clear and unshaken 
it was impossible to move him. Popular prejudice might be against 
him, but its force would seem to be spent with as little efiect, as the 
ocean wave has before the granite of its own beaten shore This 
was the general character of the man. It enabled him to hold, on ex- 
citing occasions the ' even scales of justice,' with a firmer hand than 
any man with whom I was ever brought in contact. An apparently 
cold exterior, and sometimes an abrupt manner of speaking, have 
doubtless sometimes given oft'ence to those who did not thoroughly 



98 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

understand, that within that bosom beat the kindliest sympathies, and 
yet his was a bosom that possessed such sympathies. 

Much might be said of his personal and private character, but I 
am admonished to forbear, since my tribute can add but little to the 
honor of one who was beloved by all who knew him. 

The resolutions adopted by the bar in Cleveland, are a fair speci- 
men of those adopted elsewhere in the State — they are as fol- 
low : — 

" Whereas authentic intelligence has been received of the death of 
our distinguished friend and fellow-citizen, Peter Hitchcock, of 
Geauga — a man who, during a period of forty years, has been eminent 
in this State for his ability and usefulness, in almost every department 
of the public service — 

" A7id tvhereas the members of this bar, deeply sensible of the loss 
which the profession and the public have sustained by this dispensa- 
tion of Divine Providence, are desirous of giving utterance to their 
sorrow, as well as of publicly testifying their regard for the memory of 
a great and good man — 

^'■Therefore, Resolved, — That, in the death of Peter Hitchcock we de- 
plore the loss of a patriot distinguished for his advocacy of popular 
rights, and for his attachment to free institutions ; of a legislator emi- 
nently practical, wise, and sagacious ; of a judge, unsurpassed in inte- 
grity, in firmness, in strength and grasp of mind, in clearness of per- 
ception, and freedom from extraneous influences, and who, in the 
combination of qualities that go to make up a great judicial character, 
has proliably never been equalled among the jurists of this State ; of 
a faithful public servant, whose agency is perceivable in everything 
that has imparted value to legislation, or inspired confidence in judi- 
cial action ; whose usefulness is to be measured, not only by the posi- 
tive good that he has done, but by the evil that he has prevented ; who, 
beyond any other man, has impressed his mind and character upon the 
institutions of the State ; and who, as much as any other, is entitled 
to be held in grateful remembrance by the people of Ohio. 

" Resolved, — That the proceedings of this meeting be published in 
the daily papers of the city ; and that a copy thereof be forwarded to 
the family of the deceased, as expressive of the respectful condolence 
of this bar in their afflictive bereavement." 

At the time of Judge Hitchcock's decease, the legislature of the 
State was in Session, and before its adjournment adopted the following 
joint resolutions : — 

" Whereas we have heard with the deepest concern of the death 
of the Hon. Peter Hitchcock, late Chief Justice of the Supreme Court 
of the State : And Whereas the deceased, by his long, faithful, and 
distinguished public services, has endeared himself to the people of 
Ohio : Therefore, be it 

" Resolved, by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That in 



HON'. PETER HITCHCOCK, OF OHIO. 99 

the death of the Hon. Peter Hitchcock, the State has lost an able 
jurist and faithful public servant, and society an honorable and useful 
citizen — 

" Resolved, — That we deeply sympathize with the family of the de- 
ceased in their sad bereavement. 

" Resolved, — That the Governor be requested to transmit a copy of 
the foregoing resolutions to the family of the deceased." 

These testimonials show most clearly the estimation in which Judge 
Hitchcock was held by the people of his adopted State, and that by 
his death she lost one of her greatest — one of her best men. 

But his memory still lives. The impression made by him upon her 
institutions, and upon society, still remains ; and the influence of his 
example and his active life will not cease with the present generation, 
but will long continue its efl'ect for good. 



I 




U/-t^>r^ 



ZTNTTEn STATUS J3ISTBSCT J-VUaS FOR. VEZAlfASS . 



HON. WILLARD HALL, 

OF DELAWARE. 

WiLLARD Hall, District Judge of the United States for Delaware 
district, is a native of Massachusetts. He was born at Westford, in 
the county of Middlesex, the twenty-fourth of December, 1780: his 
father, Willis Hall, was born and died in that town; his mother, Mehe- 
table Pool, was of Hollis, New-Hampshire. 

His grandfather, Willard Hall, was a graduate of Harvard College, 
in the class of 1722. He was, soon after, ordained and settled the first 
pastor of Westford, erected, just before his settlement, into a town ; the 
west part of the territory of Chelmsford being set off for that purpose. 
He has been represented as a pious, useful minister. Dr. Payson, fifty 
years ago pastor of Chelsea, near Boston, spoke in strong terms of the 
gratification of having been acquainted with him, and mentioned as re- 
markable the clearness and strength of his mind. He united the 
offices of pastor and physician : the condition of society at the 
time extending greatly his usefulness. He was a strenuous sup- 
porter of common education. The town, on one occasion, con- 
sidering themselves excused by a special emergency from laying 
the required school taxes, he complained to the General Court, and 
arraigned his own charge before that tribunal. In this he offended, as 
he knew he should, many of his people ; but he would make no com- 
promise with delinquency in this matter. He was a man of taste in 
agriculture ; he had a good farm ; he cultivated fruit trees, plums, apri- 
cots, peaches, pears, apples, currants, black, white and red ; his garden, 
his orchards, his fields, years after his death, bearing witness to his 
skill and industry. 

In consequence of an academy being instituted in Westford, in 1792, 
Willard Hall, the grandson, was placed in the way of a liberal edu- 
cation. He entered that academy with the first scholars. He was 
prepared for college at the Harvard commencement in 1794, and then 
was examined and received; but he returned and continued another 
year at the academy, and entered the freshman class of 1795. The 
disposition then seems to have been to protract the term of education. 
Now, a contrary disposition prevails, that leads — instead of entering 
freshman two years in succession, not to enter freshman at all, but 
overleap one, or, if it can possibly be done, two years of college 
course. The evil — the better expression is ruin — of this impatience of 
elementary education, is not properly considered : it is not examined 
and tested by experience so as to be understood. The writer has in 
view a gentleman of good natural endowments and estimable moral 
character, who has been delving at a profession twelve years or more, 
in barrenness, whose want of success, he believes, is attributable to 
having been unfortunately sent to a small, incompetent college, and 
acquiring there, for he could acquire no other, a superficial education. 
His education, instead of investing his mind with the elements of power, 



102 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

has formed It to feebleness — made it incapable of vigor and persevering 
strength. 

Judge Hall graduated at Harvard at the commencement of 1799. 

At the time of his leaving college, Groton, adjoining his native 
town, was distinguished by the residence of two eminent lawyers 
of the Middlesex bar, Timothy Bigelow and Samuel Dana. Mr. 
Bigelow was a man of great ability, and elevated moral and religious 
character. His speaking was rapid, rapid to a fault ; but it was earnest, 
energetic, and full of matter. He filled the circle in which he moved; 
but on the broad extent of his state and nation he never attained to the 
eminence that was due to him. Personal idolatry, so rife now, was 
then unknown. Mr. Dana was a good lawyer, a graceful speaker, 
with a melodious voice, an interesting gentleman. He abounded with 
anecdote ; there could be no more entertaining companion. Much m- 
structive personal history has been lost by his death. 

The offices of Mr. Bigelow and Mr. Dana were nurseries of lawyers. 
The recollection of them, in connection with the remark that has been 
made on the difference of the present from the former course of educa- 
tion, brings to mind an observation made by Mr. Dana to the writer 
long after he had left his office. Said he : " When you and others left 
my office, I had not a misgiving concerning you ; I was as confident of 
your success, as a fiirmer is of a crop from a well-cultivated field ; but 
that assurance is gone ; and for those now setting out 1 feel nothing but 
apprehension." 

Many had acquired the profession in these offices before the writer. 
Several were there with him. All became indebted for the tuition-fee ; 
and most for something additional. On leaving, they gave their notes. 
He has been informed, and he does not doubt it, that nothing was ever 
lost of these notes. 

Judge Hall entered Mr. Dana's office, March, 1800. In March, 1803, 
he was admitted to the bar of Hillsborough county, New-Hampshire ; 
Mr. Dana practising in that county. Having read, in a speech in Con- 
gress of James A. Bayard, then the distinguished representative from 
Delaware, some accounts of the bar in this state, placing it in an ele- 
vated moral position, and representing the practice as reasonably pro- 
ductive, he addressed to him a letter of inquiry. The gentlemanly and 
favorable answer of Mr. Bayard induced him to make choice of this state 
for prosecuting his profession. 

He left his lather's house in Westford, April 7, 1803 ; and traveling 
on horseback he reached Wilmington, Delaware, the 16th of that 
month ; from thence he proceeded to Georgetowai, Sussex county, 
where the Court of Common Pleas was beginning its spring sessions. 
He had letters from the late H. G. Otis, of Boston, to Mr. Bayard and 
Mr. Rodney, and a record of his admission to the bar in New-Hamp- 
shire, and upon the application of Mr. Bayard, and a subsequent report 
of him and the late Rev. James P. Wilson, D. D., of Philadelphia, 
then at the bar in Georgetown, Sussex, he was admitted an attorney 
and counselor of that court. In May, 1803, he settled at Dover, in 
the practice of law, and sedulously pursued this practice for twenty 
years. In this period he never allowed himself spare time sufficient 
to visit Massachusetts in modes of traveling then in use. He mar- 



WILLARD HALL, OF DELAWARE. 103 

ried, and had one child ; he yearly devoted a fortnight to a change 
of air in Pennsylvania, to escape the intermittent fever of the level 
country of his residence. He always felt guilty in starting and 
returning on this excursion ; for he considered that professional ser- 
vices are needed by the community, and that a professional man is 
bound to make it convenient to the community to have the benefit of 
these services. He never saw father nor mother after leaving them, 
in April, 1803. 

Settling, a stranger among strangers, in a part of the country 
whose customs and manners were strange to him, without one auxiliary 
of patronage either of person oi circumstance, and in competition with 
gentlemen in prime and vigor of life, of commanding ability, first-rate 
education, held in highest personal esteem, in the midst of their own 
people and having a full start, his movement was slow, but progressive. 
It continued so. In 1811 he was appointed Secretary of State, and 
exercised this office till January, 1814. In 1816 he was elected one of 
the representatives from the state to the Congress of the United States, 
and was re-elected in 1818. In 1821 he was again appointed Secretary 
of State ; in 1822 he was elected a member of the state Senate ; and in 
1823, May 6th, on decease of Judge Fisher, he was appointed by 
President Monroe District Judge of the United States for Delaware 
district. When this office was conferred, his practice at the bar was 
better than it had ever been, and increasing more certainly and substan- 
tially than it had ever done. But he was wearied with twenty years' 
labors and anxieties ; toiling harder for his clients than they would 
work for themselves, and feeling more deeply than they felt for their 
own interests. 

Upon the application of the General Assembly of Delaware, he re- 
vised the statutory laws of the state. He completed the work in 1829, 
reducing six volumes of laws, 3,646 pages octavo, to one octavo 
volume, of which the public laws occupied 563 pages. In this revision 
he retained, in their own language, all old provisions, clearly expressed 
and unaffected by subsequent legislation. The mass of the laws did 
not admit of this. Upon most subjects the law was found in many 
acts amending, supplying, varying. In such cases his~ course was to 
determine the laws resulting from all the statutory provisions, and ex- 
press it in a bill prepared for the purpose, in plain, clear language, 
without redundancy, repealing all former acts in pari materia. It 
is believed, that from 1829 till 1852, when another revision was 
made, not a difficulty in practice, nor a vexed question, or perplexity, 
has been occasioned by this work. 

In 1831, a convention was called in Delaware to revise the constitu- 
tion. Judge Hall was then a resident of Wilmington, in Newcastle 
county, having removed from Dover in March, 1825. He was elected 
a delegate from Newcastle county to this convention, having been placed 
on the ticket of both parties. 

His views of democratic republicanism upon the engrossing subject 
of offices, found no favor on either side. These views were, that a demo- 
cratic republic consists of its citizens, each individual having place, and 
weight, and duty: individual talent, enterprise, industry and worth, 
composing the common stock ; that every citizen, therefore, should 



104 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

have scope and inducement to employ to best advantage his talent, 
enterprise and energies ; that if there be two offices affording places for 
two men, when one office with one of them would be competent to 
discharge all the functions, there is the loss of a man, and even worse, 
for the two will probably become indolent, and be drones, while one 
discharging all the duties would be kept active, and by his energy be 
felt beyond his office in building up social improvement ; that this' was 
not mere theorizing, for under his own observation several young men 
of highest promise, with advantages to be ornaments to society, had 
been allured by present apparent benefits into little offices, and de- 
stroyed, becoming idle, incapable and worthless. 

The question of offices should be determined with a sole view to the 
accommodation of the people, to be served through the functions. Their 
business should be done well, with as little expense and great conve- 
nience to them as consistent with justice to the office. If what is done 
in four offices can be done as well in one, by discontinuing three, and 
assigning the functions of four to one, the people will be served with 
more convenience and less expense to them; there will be a better 
officer, and he will be better supported. The republican view of the 
subject presents these considerations. It is utterly anti-republican to 
create offices for the sake of distributing favors to individuals. This 
is taxation — taxation of the most unjust and baneful nature, wantonly 
imposing public burden, injuring the favored men whose talents and 
industry urged to exertion in some useful pursuit, would gain a better 
living, and more influential standing, and harrassing the community by 
negligently executed offices. 

But the petty interests sustaining the opposite view are too strong to 
be overcome by argument. 

While Secretary of the State of Delaware, Judge Hall had advocated 
provision of public schools, and suggested a plan. In 1829 a com- 
mittee of the legislature applied to him for a bill forming a school sys- 
tem for the state. He dratted a bill which was passed, with the excep- 
tion of a provision conferring the power of taxation, omitted, not ac- 
cording to the judgment of the members, but through their apprehension 
of the unwillingness of the people. This feature was restored in a mo- 
dified form ; but another important feature, that a school district should 
receive from the school-fund of the state no more than it raised in itself, 
was marred by allowing a district to draw its dividend upon raising the 
minimum sum of $25. With these variances, the school system of the 
state is as framed by this bill. 

Under this system each county was divided into school districts; and 
to the school voters in each district was committed the power, in lawful 
meeting, to choose a school committee to provide a school open to all 
the white children of the district, and to raise money to enable them to 
discharge their duties, each school district being a community invested 
with power and responsibility to maintain a school for its youth, and the 
school voters being the fountain of this power and responsibility. 

h has been objected to the system that it is too democratic, resting 
on the will of the people, without inherent power for healthful action. 
The answer : — It adopts the vital principle of our civil polity, contain- 
ing the elements of all our institutions, and imparting to them form and 



WILLARD HALL, OF DELAWARE. 105 

life, viz. : that the people best understand their own interests, and are 
the trustworthy keepers and directors of them ; and that they for 
themselves, and none others for them, must concert and mature all 
plans for bettering their condition ; that this principle should pervade, 
and be practical everywhere in conducting all public concerns com- 
mitted to communities, so that the people shall be trained to discretion, 
intelligence, and sound judgment. The people need educating as well 
as the children ; they have the power ; it can neither be reclaimed nor 
abridged ; the only safety, and therefore the course of wisdom, is in their 
learning to use it. The people of this country are in everything unlike 
those of the Old World. There they are to be amused, recreated, and 
kept contented : here they are to be trained into capacity, to under- 
stand and pursue the common good as their ti'ue and individual in- 
terest. Train the mass of the community in common schools, and se- 
lect classes in select schools, and by the process you plant the substra- 
tum of society with roots of bitterness, diffusing noxiousness through 
the soil, and producing a most baneful growth. Feelings of child- 
hood influence through life ; the disposition and temper remaining after 
the emotions in which they originated have passed away, and are 
forgotten. It cannot be disguised that great jealousies pervade com- 
munities. One class being supposed too high, prejudices are invoked 
and fostered to prostrate them. Men distinguished for ability and 
aptness to fill stations are not selected, because of jealousies arising 
from this very ability and aptness. Worth is thrown away ; common 
good sacrificed; public detriment incurred of choice. The fact that the 
persons proscribed by the common opinion have never been a part of 
the mass, but have always moved in a separate sphere, has much to do 
in occasioning this result. It is essential to the prosperous action of our 
institutions that all classes begin together, and go through an interesting 
part of their course in company. The counterpart of the disposition 
producing the mischief just noticed, can be formed only in childhood. 
A jealous temperament once formed cannot be corrected. Remedies, 
apparently the most judicious, merely increase it. There is no calcu- 
lating the reciprocal influence in childhood of general association : that 
of the poor is as beneficial to the rich as that of the rich to the poor ; 
instilling and imbibing lessons of practical life that can be learned in no 
other way, and indispensable to the harmonious working of the whole 
community. 

Another objection has been made to this school system — that it 
allows country districts to be too large, as some scholars may be dis 
tant two miles from the school-house. This objection is noticed here 
to introduce the remark of the writer, that to the necessity which his 
home in childhood laid upon him to walk two miles and a half to 
school, going in the morning, returning at night, with a crust of bread 
in his pocket for his dinner, he attributes it that, with a constitution by 
no means robust, and at the age of twenty-two leaving New-England 
and settling in a climate deemed sickly, he has enjoyed uniform good 
health, rarely interrupted even by slight indisposition, and has reached 
an advanced period of life without feeling the pressure of age. Con- 
sidering how much is lost to business energy, and how much pain is 



lOG SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

suffered in consequence of the debilitated frames of professional men. 
this remark may be of some value. 

Of the late James A. Bayard, whose name has occurred in this narra- 
tive, the writer may be allowed a passing notice. His was not a noisy 
fame, but no man's was more solid. Those who knew him held him in 
the highest estimation : a man of elevated principle and commanding 
intellectual power. Mr. Madison, through admiration of his ability, 
appointed him, an opponent in politics, and a citizen of the smallest 
state, hence without local influence, on the commission with Albert 
Gallatin, John Quincy Adams, and Henry Clay, to maintain the rights 
and interests of this country in the negotiations at Ghent. 

The writer has heard some of the most eminent lawyers of this na- 
tion : Samuel Dexter, Luther Martin, William Pinkney, Daniel Web- 
ster, and others, and has knowledge of other distinguished members of 
the profession, but he has heard and has knowledge of no one whom he 
considers superior to Mr. Bayard. Of the bar of his state he was the 
pride, and most justly : he was an ornament of that of the nation. 

He was no case hunter. He placed little stress on authorities, unless 
unequivocally' decisive. He grasped the governing principles, took a 
lucid view of his case, and in the application argued with overwhelming 
effect. 

He prepared himself with diligence and care ; examined and under- 
stood the matters that were to form the argument ; would touch nothing 
that could be turned against him. The writer, concerned with him in a 
case involving new and important points, had found an authorit}' which 
he deemed pertinent and weighty. He went into an argument to show 
how clearly applicable were the principles involved in the decision, and 
how a position apparently contradictory not only was not so, but was 
corroborative of these principles, Mr. Bayard, after listening atten- 
tively, replied — " This is all very well ; it would be a pleasant exercise 
to a student thus to unfold and show the api^lication of the principles ; 
but we have to do with judges, who, while we are reasoning to show 
that the general principles of the case are decisive, may run away with 
the position that carries on its face an opposite appearance. Never," 
said he, "cite a case that does not run on all four." He rejected the 
case, and gave the writer an impressive and useful lesson through the 
mode in which he treated it. 

Judge Hall made public profession of religion in 1827. Beginning 
late, he considered that special diligence was required. His attention 
was directed to youth, where there were no suitable means of training 
and education — their whole moral being in a forming state, and they de- 
pendent on others to be moulded with skilful care or marring neglect. 
Men inculcate upon their fellow-men obligations to be worthy citizens 
of a free government, moral virtues requisite to the comfort and safety 
of society, and the religious course which Revelation portrays and en- 
joins as emphatically the way of life,. But the character of the men to 
whom these lessons are addressed is already settled — either to go for- 
ward in the prescribed way, and therefore the direction is superfluous, 
or to pursue a different track, and therefore it will not be heeded. The 
work to which all this points has been done, or is past doing — the pro- 
per time, the fit state, childhood and youth. Hence his labors in the 



WILLARD HALL, OF DELAWARE. 107 

cause of common schools have been unintermitted, and he has been a 
teacher in Sabbath schools from the date of his religious profession. 

A gospel minister, speaking of a classmate, said, that he had been 
under strong religious convictions, but he would not yield to them because 
he had determined to study law, and he considered that the practice of 
law could not be advantageously followed consistently with avowed 
religious character. The minister thought his classmate's view correct, 
and approved his candor. 

The reply of Judge Hall was : Of all men a lawyer should be a reli- 
gious man. He especially needs the guidance and power of religion — 
not because lawyers are more apt than any other profession, not except- 
ing the apparently most safe, to swerve from rectitude, (for this is not 
so : if the temptations are strong, so are the motives to pure, unbend- 
ing integrity,) but because no one can better manifest the graces of re- 
ligion, nor fulfil its duties. When we have completed a college course, and 
pursued our law studies for the regular period, and especially if in both 
we have been diligent, we are confidently sent out as prepared to enter 
upon a business life. But the most important element of preparation 
is wanting — acquaintance with God, knowledge of His government and 
laws, discovery of the source of all moral principle, of all hope to ani- 
mate and establish purpose, of all energy against discouragement, of the 
motives of all rational life, and familiarity with exercises to keep these 
attainments fresh, vigorous, and growing, as the germains of all useful- 
ness and enjoyment. 

It is admitted that religion is associated, in many minds, with imbe- 
cile cant, boastful self-righteousness, gloomy or debasing superstition, 
blind, distempered zeal. But these are abuses of religion. Nothing 
so expands, elevates, and strengthens intellect, as religious observance, 
under the prayerful study of the Bible, to enlighten and invigorate con- 
science, and direct practically the life ; and nothing can be so exalting 
and enriching as tracing the hand of the Mighty Maker and Director in 
common things or occurrences, the hidden, but abounding and wonder- 
ful recesses of nature, or the higher wonders of the celestial world, under 
the conviction, all these hath God wrought, in infinite wisdom and good- 
ness, for infinitely wise and good ends. And I am occupying my place 
through His wisdom and goodness, working out His designs, and exist- 
ing, therefore, for their high and glorious consummation. 

It is with continually fresh and increasing admiration the well-read 
lawyer quotes Lord Mansfield's declaration — " The substantial i-ules of 
pleading are founded in strong sense and the soundest, closest logic; and 
so they appear when well understood and explained." For he has ex- 
perienced the truth in mental discipline and legal attainment. The 
pious lawyer, in the study of God's word and works, hearing His voice 
and seeing His hand, experiences higher discipline and attainment, finds 
stronger sense and sounder logic, abundantly " manifest when well 
understood and explained." The mind becomes conscious of inherent 
living power before unknown, and that power is constantly drawn out 
to profitable effect. 




rn^'^VrZ S SaJd 




JUSTICE OF TSE SaPESIOB. COTTR.'S' OF DSLATICAJiS . 



Sng 'for Bu3grctphiaiLSkei^>h&s of Ihrujzeni^.i^7nericayiyLajnysr-s 



HON. SAMUEL MAXWELL HARRINGTON, 

OF DOVER, DELAWARE. 

Samuel Maxwell Harrington was born in Dover, February 5, 
1803, of respectable parents, descended from English ancestors on the 
paternal, and German on the maternal side. He was indebted to his 
mother for the promptings of literary ambition, through early instruc- 
tion procured for him by many sacrifices, which it was his happiness, in 
after life, to reward by the tender care of her declining years. He 
completed his academic studies in Washington College, Maryland, un- 
der the presidency of Doctor Francis Waters ; where he was graduated, 
in 1823, with the first honors of his class. The death of his father, during 
his own minority, devolved upon him, with very inadequate means, the 
charge of a widowed mother and two sisters. He began life, when a 
boy, in the office of the clerk of the Supreme Court, where he acquired 
a taste for legal learning, which afterwards, by proper cvltivation, ele- 
vated him to the bench. From this he passed, by kind invitation, into 
the office of the late Henry M. Ridgely ; and subsequently completed 
his legal studies, by similar kindness, with Martin W. Bates, then and 
yet a distinguished lawyer at the Delaware bar. He had much to dis 
courage him in this preparatory training, but " all things are possible 
to him that wills." Let his success stimulate every young man who 
has the courage to attempt, and the firmness to achieve, the control of 
his own position. Feeble health ; embarrassed circumstances; inherited 
responsibilities ; doubtful prospects in entering a bar already filled with 
talent — all these were met with fortitude and courage ; while, by per- 
severing study, he not only prepared himself for future action, but 
attracted the regards of those with whom he was to act. In this re- 
spect he was eminently fortunate. We have heard him mention, with 
grateful acknowledgment, the early friendship of Governor Hazzard, 
John M. Clayton, Thomas Clayton, Governor Polk, General Green, 
and others, in addition to the friends to whom he owed his legal educa- 
tion. 

Admitted to the bar, the same qualities which had prepared him for 
it, secured him success in the practice. Without brilliancy, without 
pretensions to stirring eloquence, he manifested at once the better qua- 
lities of learning, discrimination and sound judgment ; which, directed 
by industry, and governed always by integrity, brought him public 
confidence and professional success. Upon these qualities he soon rose 
to such distinction, that, on Mr. Clayton's retiring from the office of 
Secretary of State, during Governor Polk's administration, he was ap- 
pointed to that responsible post at the early age of twenty-six. He 
was again called to the same office in 1830, by Governor Hazzard, 
during whose administration, embarrassed by the breaking up of old, 
and the formation of new party lines, the state department was con- 
ducted with acknowledged ability and success. 

9 



110 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

During this administration, also, the constitution of the state was 
revised, and the judiciary system changed ; but before the change took 
place, a vacancy occurred on the bench of the Supreme Court, which 
this fact made it difficult to fill. The commission was tendered to Mr. 
Harrington, and it was accepted only because it could not, from the 
relations he sustained to the governor, be respectfully declined. Thus, 
at the early age of twenty-eight, he became the chief-justice of that 
court which, when a boy, he had served as a deputy clerk. His re- 
luctance to accept this appointment arose chiefly from considerations of 
youth and inexperience, in reference to an office in which, at that day, 
venerable age was considered indispensable to secure public confidence 
and official respect. When he entered on its duties in Sussex county, 
in the trial of an intricate case, involving questions of state jurisdiction, 
the leading member of the bar there, and of the party opposed to the 
administration, who had denounced his appointment as an experiment 
on public forbearance, sat as a spectator ; and at the close of the case 
declared that his prejudices were removed, and proffered his confidence 
and support to the new head of the court. He kept his word. Years of 
intimate association afterwards matured a friendship between them, 
which ended only with Judge Robinson's life ; and in the course of 
which the young judge received abundant evidence of the veteran 
lawyer's professional respect. 

The new constitution united the two common law courts into one 
Superior Court; the bench of which was filled by the appointment of 
the venerable president of the late Court of Common Pleas, as chief- 
justice; and James R. Black, Peter Robinson and Samuel M. Harring- 
ton, as associates. During twenty years' service in that court, which 
is so constituted that each of its members is often obliged to discharge 
all the duties that can devolve upon any, the numerous published opin- 
ions of Judge Harrington give ample evidence of industry and judicial 
ability. They are spread through four volumes of reports, which he 
has published by command of the legislature, and which have placed 
the jurisprudence of Delaware on the same commanding eminence to 
which its distinguished statesmen have elevated its political standard. 
Drawing their principles from the pure fountains of the common law, 
qualified by a eautious and judicious recognition of doctrines of more 
recent origin, the decisions of the Superior Court of Delaware are 
everywhere cited with respect and authority. In these reports, the 
cases are well selected and concisely stated, and the judgments are 
announced with clearness of reasoning, aptness of illustration, and depth 
of research. Among them, the recorded opinions pronounced by 
Judge Harrington bear a full proportion ; and, in respect to their abili 
ty, it is quite conclusive to say, that they are worthily classed M'ith 
those of his distinguished associates. Chancellor Johns, the two Clay- 
tons, Bayard, Booth, Black, Robinson, Layton. Hazzard, Milligan and 
Wootten. We are indebted to the Hon. John M. Clayton for the fol- 
lowing analysis of Judge Harrington's official character ; extracted, by 
permission, from a letter addressed to a gentleman in Wilmington, 
dated Nov. 2, 1851 : 

"Samuel M. Harrington is one of those men who would have been 
distinguished in any profession he might have adopted. But he has 



SAMUEL MAXWELL HARRINGTON, OF DELAWARE*. Ill 

confined himself chiefly to the studies of the jurist, and has discharged, 
for more than twenty years, with signal ability, the duties of a judge, 
for which his talents, temper, integrity, and industrious and moral 
habits, have pre-eminently qualified him. He has the true judicial 
and legal mind, is quick of apprehension, laborious in research, learned 
in his profession, patient in hearing, discriminating, cautious, mild and 
conciliatory in his hearing, but firm, and always sufficiently prompt to 
decide. He has made the business of the judge the chief (I had almost 
said the sole) business of his life. Devoted to his judicial duties, no 
man ever had cause to complain of any neglect, or delay, on his part, 
in the discharge of them. 1 have never known any one to combine in 
himself more of the many high qualities essential to the character of a 
good judge, than this gentleman. As he was one of my associates 
while I held the office of chief-justice of this state, 1 had the best oppor- 
tunity of forming a correct estimate of his intellect, and, indeed, of 
his whole character ; and it has been to me a subject of great regret 
that so much laborious public service, most ably, as well as honestly, 
performed, and that, too, by one whose merit is so generally acknow- 
ledged, should have been so poorly compensated by the state. After I 
left the bench, Mr. Harrington would have been appointed chief-justice 
of the state, had he not refused to accept that office." His reasons for 
declining this honor are characteristic. "I can gain nothing (he said) 
by the change of position but the honor, and the state may lose the 
services of a better man. Whatever ability I may have to render ser- 
vice, will be exerted, as it has been, in my present office, with the 
duties of which I have become fiimiliar ; and there is no reason, either 
public or private, to make the change desirable." 

Mr. Harrington has written and compiled much. Living at the seat 
of legislation, many of the statute laws of his state have received the 
impress of his hand. In 1849, I e was placed at the head of a commis- 
sion, in connection with Joseph P. Comegys and Daniel M. Bates, dis- 
tinguished members of the Delaware bar, to revise the public laws of 
the state, " with a general discretion to omit such existing provisions as 
they should consider unnecessary, and to vary existing provisions when- 
ever they might think a variance suitable to render the general system 
consistent, or more perspicuous, or better adapted to circumstances." 
In two years the commission discharged this laborious and responsible 
duty. Their report, comprising the whole body of public statute law, 
entirely re-written, with remarks on the several chapters, was made to 
the legislature, in 1851 ; and the revised code was passed at a special 
session, held for the purpose, in 1852. The commissioners received, by 
unanimous vote of both houses, the thanks of the general assembly "for 
the fidelity and al)ility with which they have performed that duty." 

Mr. Harrington occupies other important relations to society, but 
this memoir concerns chiefly his public and official character. We may 
add, that he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal branch of the 
Christian Church ; and that he married, at the age of 33, Mary, the 
daughter of Purnel Lofland, Esq., of Milford. 





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■'.r^y'^/or j-^u^^-rrwhicu^ 0/ire'<;.vz<if ot J'J^njJierU.Jjna-tian^L^iyers 



HON. PIERRE A. ROST, 

JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA. 

Pierre Adolphe Rost was born in the Department of Lot et Ga 
ronne, in the then Republic of France, and was the eldest son of Jein 
Jacques Rost and Sophie Delas. Ilis father was a Huguenot, and i 
favor of the new order of things. During the Reign of Terror he had 
been entrusted with authority which the weight of his personal charac- 
ter enabled him to exert on the side of mercy, when it was most dan- 
gerous to be merc.tul. His mother was a Catholic, and belonged to a 
family warmly attached to the fallen dynasty. The first political dis- 
cussions he had were with his uncles, on the maternal side ; and as he 
invariably had the better of them in argument, they came to the con' 
trouble wiJh hi '''^^ ^ "'«"^«*"'>' «">^> «'^d that poor Sophie, would have 

His father thought differently. He had confidence in his son and 
treated h:.n from infancy as a companion and a friend. He was fond 
of appealingto his imagination, and of conversing with him upon the 
lives and actions of distinguished men. He dwelt with particullr plea- 
sure on the life and character of Franklin, whom he greatly admired 
tranklms republic was frequently mentioned, and thejood old'crentic" 
man might easily have been led to believe that every citizen r.f It wis 
a x'ranklin. 

After receiving the rudiments of education at and near home, young 
Rost was sent to the college, first in the old Roman city of Cahors and 
afterwards to the Lycee Napoleon at Paris. He passed his examina- 
tion for the Polytechnic school, when he was little over sixteen years 
of age, and was classed and admitted as the nineteenth of the success- 
ful^ applicants. Soon after his admission, his father died suddenly. 
This loss was so seriously felt by him, that it affected his health, and 
for a long time depressed his spirits. 

At the beginning of the ensuing year, the allied armies first crossed 
the Rhine, and invaded France. The entire battalion of the Poly- 
technic school asked to join in repelling the invasion, and was attached 
to the garrison of Paris. Its conduct and admirable discipline at the 
battle, under the walls of that city, on the 30th of March, 1814, won 
the respect and the admiration of the enemy. Young Rost stood at 
the right flank of the battery when it was charged by a body of Bava- 
rian cavalry, and the men at the guns compelled to retreat, until they 
succeeded in turning against their assailants four of the guns on the left 
which mowed them down like grass, and cleared the battery before the 
guns could be spiked. Each then returned to his post, and continued 
to annoy the enemy long after the other positions had been surrendered, 
and until the order to retreat was passed ; so that it may be said that 
the subject of this notice fired the last shot for the deliverance of his 
native land. He then retreated with the army of Paris, and joined the 
Emperor at Fontainbleau. After the Restoration, he returned to the 
Polytechnic school, and applied for a commission on the return of the 

8 



114 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Emperor from Elba. He was on the eve of obtaining it, when the 
battle of Waterloo again subjected France to the rule of foreign bayo- 
nets, and of their allies, the Bourbons. He was then offered a situation 
in the gardes du corps, which he refused, feeling, to use his own expres- 
sion, as if his country had gone from under hiui, and had left him afloat 
on the wreck of the empire. 

His thoughts then reverted to the country of Franklin ; a country 
about which he knew nothing ; but which he loved because his father 
had loved it, and he resolved to make it his home. He was warmly 
attached to his mothers and sisters ; but painful as the separation was, 
he felt that his destiny was there, and that it must be accomplished. 
He left in the beginning of 181 G, being then nineteen years of age, and 
landed in New-Orleans in the spring of that yeai-, a stranger to all, but 
full of health and youth and hope, and conscious of being at home the 
moment he trod on American soil. After being in New-Orleans a 
short time, he went to Natchez, where he made many acquaintances, 
who have been ever since his steadfast friends ; one of the most agree- 
able was that of George Eustis, the present able Chief Justice of Loui- 
siana, who was then preparing f jr the bar ; one of the most useful was 
that of a gentleman of education and intelligence, who proposed to 
learn French with him, and teach him English, which offer was thank- 
fully accepted. After a few weeks, his teacher gave up the French in 
despair, but was so well pleased with the progress of his pupil in Eng- 
lish, that he insisted upon continuing his lessons, and in the fall of that 
year he had the satisfaction to see hiiu write and speak English with 
tolerable accuracy. 

About this time Congress made to the French emigrants and exiles 
a donation of one hundred thousand acres of land, on the Black War- 
rior, for the purpose of cultivating the grape vine. Mr. Rost was re- 
gistered for a section of this land, but not believing that the swords of 
French officers could be turned into plowshares, or that such a colony 
had any chance of success, he never took possession of his share of the 
grant. After losing time, and becoming greatly involved by a com- 
mercial enterprise, and an unsuccessful attempt to improve an island on 
the Mississippi River, he turned his attention to the study of the law, 
under the guidance of Joseph E. Davis, a worthy brother of the dis- 
tinguished soldier and statesman, Jefferson Davis. After a seclusion 
of six weeks, during which days and nights were devoted to study, he 
passed a remarkable examination, and was admitted to the bar. The 
late Judge Taylor, who examined him, complimented him on his legal 
acquirements, and cheered him by the promise of success and fame in 
his new profession. He soon after removed to Natchitoches, in the 
state of Louisiana, where he established himself permanently. 

All the wealthy population of that part of Louisiana was, at that 
time, either French, or of French origin; and the facility which he had 
of addressing juries in their own language, secured to him from the 
start a profitable practice, of which the liberality of the bar enabled 
him to avail himself under powers of attorney, until he was admitted 
to practice at the next term of the Supreme Court. The bar of West- 
ern Louisiana numbered, at that time, many first-rate men. Josiah 
Johnston, Alexander Porter, Henry A. Bullard, William Wilson, and 



PIERRE A. ROST, OF LOUISIANA. 115 

Isaac Thomas, have a national reputation, and would have stood among 
the first in their profession anywhere. With the liberality peculiar to 
the legal profession, all those men welcomed the young Frenchman 
among them, and seemed as much pleased with his success as with their 
own. Their good report soon spread his name throughout the state, 
his practice became quite large, and in a few years he had the happi- 
ness to pay the debts he had left behind him, with interest, and to lay 
the foundation of a competency which he has since attained. His for- 
mer creditors not only became his clients, but took pains to recommend 
him, and put him in the way of much valuable business. 

The courts of general jurisdiction sitting at that time but twice a 
year, he had much time left for self improvement, and availed himself 
of it to the utmost. The facility he had of reading French, Spanish, 
and Latin, gave him access to all the origins of the law of Louisiana, 
and he went through a systematic course of study, at times, by him- 
self, and at other times with Judge BuUard, who, like him, was fond of 
scientific investigation. Domat was his text book ; Pothier, including 
the Pandects, Merlin and Toullier, his favorite commentators ; Grego- 
rio Lopez, Salgado, the Curia Philippica and Febrero, were also read 
by him, and the changes which the laws of Spain then in force in Loui- 
siana had made in the Roman law, carefully noted. He was thus 
qualifying himself to sustain with honor the position which favorable 
circumstances had made for him at the bar. So far, however, from 
obtruding his studies upon the public, he took pains to conceal them, 
and was ever ready to lead the dance, or join his friends in the sports 
of the field. 

The cases that came before the court at that early day frequently 
presented the dramatic incidents of a border country. A brief notice 
of a few of them may be interesting to our readers, not only as 
sketches of manners, but as disclosing the modus operandi of the sub- 
ject of this notice, and the character of his mind. 

Tom Tippett was a drummer in the regiment stationed at Canton- 
ment Jesup, about fourteen years of age. Having been punished by 
the sergeant of his company, the next morning, when off duty, he 
stepped up to him, within the precincts of the fort, took deliberate aim, 
and shot him dead. He was surrendered for trial to the city authority. 
On leaving the fort, he told his commanding officer that he knew he 
must die, but that he would die like an American and a soldier, and 
bring no disgrace upon his company. This having been related by the 
officers to Judge Bullard and Mr. Rost, they volunteered in his de- 
fence, 

Mr, Rost pleaded to the jurisdiction of the court on the ground that, 
by the constitution of the United States, Congress was to exercise ex- 
clusive legislation over all places on which forts, magazines, arsenals, 
and dock -yards were erected ; and that this grant of power divested at 
once and forever the state court of jurisdiction. The arguments made 
use of by him were much the same as those upon which the celebrated 
passenger case has lately been decided by the Supreme Court of the 
United States. But the court held, that it was not the grant of power 
by the federal constitution to Congress which divested the state court 
of jurisdiction ; and that the exercise of the power by Congress alone 



116 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

produced that effect. Under the principle of the decision in the passen- 
ger case, this defence should have prevailed. The offence not having 
been committed while the accused was on duty, it could not be brought 
under the martial law ; and as Congress had not provided for such a 
case, there was no law under which he could be tried. By the decision 
of the court he was subjected to a trial, which, through the great exer- 
tions of his counsel, resulted in a verdict of manslaughter. 

Dr. Provost had been a distinguished surgeon in the French army. 
He was fond of strife, and had exaggerated notions of honor and per- 
sonal dignity. He was arrested for a threat, on the affidavit of one of 
his neighbors, and brought for examination before Spotswoods Mills, 
who was a justice of the peace and a practising lawyer. Mills was then 
a candidate for the legislature. He required Provost to give bonds to 
keep the peace, and the latter not being able to comply with the order 
on the spot, his hands were tied behind his back, a rope was placed 
around his neck and tied to a tree in the yard of the house in which 
Mills was at the time, and he was suffered to lie out all night. On the 
next day, this being midsummer, the constable walked him thirty 
miles to the jail of the parish, his hands still tied, and a rope around 
his neck. As soon as he reached the town of Natchitoches, he gave 
bonds and was set at libertv. His hands were much swollen, and he 
was in a state of mental excitement bordering upon insanity. He 
thought that Mills had suffered these outrages to be committed upon 
him to propitiate his enemies, whose votes he wanted, and sent him a 
challenge, to which he received no answer. Several days passed, 
during which the election took place, and Mills was elected. One 
evening after dark, Provost met him in the street, and said, he asked 
him whether he would fight him. Mills answered that he would not; 
and Provost stabbed him through the heart. He was put upon his 
trial for murder, and entrusted his defence to Mr. Rost. 

The ground of defence taken in argument was, that the time which 
had elapsed between the outrage committed upon the accused, and the 
revenge taken for it, did not, under the facts of the case, raise a pre- 
sumption of malice. 

The common law was the custom of a country where money was 
held, in public opinion, a sufficient atonement for all outrages to person 
and character. After, therefore, the aggrieved party had had sufficient 
time to reflect upon the remedy which the law gave him, and which 
public opinion and his own sense of honor sanctioned, if he foiled to 
avail himself of it, and resorted to personal violence, there was no ade- 
quate motive for his acts, and malice was justly presumed. But the 
accused belonged to a race among whom the atonement required in 
such cases was blood, and mortal combat the only form of trial recog- 
nized by public opinion. That until this was had, the outraged party 
felt as a disgraced being ; and delay, so far from bringing counsel to 
him, must increase his exasperation, and ought to place him in no worse 
situation than if the act had been committed in the heat of passion. 
That in a common law country, the state of mind which would induce 
a party firmly to believe that the only remedy he had in such a case 
was to meet his adversary in mortal combat, could not be considered 
as being sound, and the accused was entitled to the benefit of this kind 
of insanity. 



PIERRE A. ROST, OF LOUISIANA. IT 



This chftracteristic distinction between the two races was traced with 
great research through their judicial history. The defence, however, 
WHS unsuccessful, and the accused found ajuiltv. 

His disposition, and the strength of his national instincts and prein- 
dices, were strikingly shown by the last request he made of the sheritf. 
The deputy of that officer had charge of the jail, and had treated him, 
as he thought, with unnecessary harshness during his confinement. The 
day before his execution, he sent for the sheriff", thanked him for his 
uniform kindness, and told him he had a request to make which he 
(the sheriff") must promise to grant. The sheriff' said he would, if it 
was possible. " Nothing easier," said Provost. " You are an honest 
man, and must not disgrace yourself by hanging me. I insist on being 
executed by your rascally deputy, and that you shall not be present."' 
The promise was given. 

An Indian had been accidentally killed by another Indian while both 
were in a state of intoxication. The relations of the deceased were ab- 
sent at the time ; but they soon heard of his death, and came from the 
Indian territory to exact blood for blood from the homicide. He was 
advised to flee, but would not, and, in blind submission to the law of 
the red man, agreed to surrender himself on a certain day to be shot. 
The court was then sitting, and Mr. Host proposed to the presiding 
judge to prevent the horrid sacrifice, by giving the victim a fair trial 
by a jury, many members of which were known and respected by the 
relatives of the deceased, and impressing upon the hitter the necessity 
of abiding by the verdict, whatever it might be. The judge consented 
at once, and had the Indian arrested, and confined in jail for safety. 
Mr. Rost visited him, informed him through an interpreter of what had 
been done, and asked the names of his witnesses. Those names were 
accordingly given. Ihey were those of Indians of three or four differ- 
ent tribes, now much reduced in numbers, and dwelling together. On 
the day of the trial, the prosecutors were all called into court. The 
killing was proved by a white man, and the witnesses for the defence 
were called. The district attorney objected to their being sworn, on 
the ground that they were insensible to the obligations of an oath from 
defect of religious sentiment and belief. They were then examined as 
to their faith, and, to the delight of those who heard them, they all tes- 
tified to their belief in a future state and in a Great Spirit who would 
reward them if they told the truth, and punish them if they lied. They 
were then examined in chief, one of the party first translating the dia- 
lect of his tribe into Mobilian, which is the lingua franca of the Southern 
Indians, to an old Indian trader, who translated in French to the sworn 
interpreter of the court, by whom it was done into English. The tes- 
timony of all those witnesses thus given in dilferent languages, was con- 
sistent throughout, and bore the impress of truth. It made out a clear 
case for the defendant. The case was then argued, and the judge gave 
a charge to the jury, which was translated to the prosecutors. The jury 
retired, and after being out some time, returned into court with a ver- 
dict of not guilty. 

The judge caused the verdict to be translated to the prosecutors, and 
told them that the jury had done justice ; and if they now took the life 
of the accused, they would be punished as murderers. Mr. Rost then 



118 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

rose and stated to the court that the prosecutors had left their hunting- 
giound to come and avenge the death of their relative, as it was their 
duty to do ; that justice had been done to the accused, but that was not 
sufficient. Justice must also be done to the other side : they must be 
indemnified for the inconvenience they had been put to, and the loss 
they had sustained ; and as the coffers of the treasury would not unlock 
at the bidding of his honor, he moved that the bar, jury, and by-stand- 
ers, contribute a sufficient amount to satisfy them. This was done as 
soon as proposed, and the prosecutors declared themselves satisfied. 
It was the first time that a court of justice in Louisiana took jurisdic- 
tion of an offence committed by an Indian against another Indian. Till 
then the Indians had been permitted to enforce their own barbarous 
laws. The precedent has since been followed, and it is to be hoped 
that it will hereafter be considered as the law of the land. 

Mr. Rost was elected to the state legislature in 1822. In the early 
part of the ensuing session a bill came up to create a new parish, with 
the singular name of St. John the Evangelist. This name was under- 
stood to have been given in deference to the wishes of a worthy old 
gentleman, who had made a donation of land to the new parish for the 
erection of the public buildings, and whose name was Jean. After the 
sections had been adopted, Mr. Rost, who, till then, had been a silent 
member, rose to move an amendment to the title. He said that he 
yielded to none in respect for the memory of the great saint who had 
been selected as the patron of the parish. But he did not think any 
good would result from the honor intended for him on this occasion. 
Honors were rendered to departed great men, less for their own sake 
than for the beneficial influence those honors had upon the living ; and 
the men whose examples were most worthy of imitation, should be 
first honored. It was painful to say, that in the present state of the 
world, evangelical sanctity found no imitators. The saints of liberty 
had, in this respect, supei'scded those of the church, and he was about 
to propose the name of one of those saints as a substitute. He moved 
that the title be amended by striking out the name of St. John the 
Evangelist, and inserting the name of Lafayette. The motion was re- 
ceived with applause. Major Davezac, who sat next to him, almost 
kissed him for the idea, and the change was made without a division. 

This little incident gave him the ear of the house, and he soon after 
made himself conspicuous by his opposition to a bill punishing usury 
as a crime, and enabling debtors to recover back the usurious interest 
paid by them within the five previous years. Only two votes, includ- 
ing his own, were recorded against it on its final passage. But it was 
returned by Governor Robertson, with his objections ; and on a re-con- 
sideration, the majority of two-thirds, required to pass it, could not be 
had. At the ensuing session he took an active part in the debates of 
the civil code, by which Louisiana is now governed. He and Judge 
Grinia formed the enrolling committee, and were authorized to make 
all necessary corrections of form. 

In 1826 he was nominated for the state senate in opposition to a gen- 
tleman who till then had defied all opposition, and considered it a duty 
to his friends to use all proper exertions to secure his election. The 
county of Natchitoches was as extensive as some of the states of this 



PIERUE A. ROST, OF LOUISIANA. 119 

Union ; and the northern and western portions of it were at that time 
occupied by a sparse American population. He made appointments to 
address the people at various places, and they came from great dis- 
tances to hear him. Those men, mostly emigrants from Tennessee 
and Georgia, considered this a giant step in the civilization of Louisiana, 
and were delighted with their candidate. They all joined in his sup- 
port, and he was elected. 

These were the first stump speeches made in Louisiana, and Mr. 
Rost has often expressed doubts whether he conferred a benefit upon 
the state by introducing the practice. 

He remained in the senate four years; at the end of which time he was 
put in nomination for Congress. He was then engaged to a daughter 
of the late Jean Noel Destrehan, whom he married before the election. 
This caused him to neglect the canvass and he was defeated by a few 
votes. He then removed to New-Orleans, where he continued in the 
exercise of his profession till the summer of 1838, when he took his 
family to Europe, on a visit to his mother and sisters. He returned 
in the fall, and two vacancies having occurred on the bench of the Su- 
preme Court, he and his old friend, George Eustis, were appointed to 
fill them. They both resigned af'ter a few months. Judge Eustis re- 
sumed the practice of the law, and Judge IJost retired to one of his 
estates, formerly the homestead of the Destrehan family, and for some 
years devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. He went from the be- 
ginning upon the principle that the best planting is that which pays 
best, and was quite successful in the application of it — givinjj his peo- 
ple all necessary comforts and all indulgences compatible with a judi- 
cious discipline, liberal in expenditures, attended with ascertained pro- 
fits, and making none on a large scale as long as the result remained 
doubtful, he was soon cited as an authority among planters ; and in 
1845 was called upon by the State Agricultural Society to deliver a 
discourse at their annual exhibition, which he did in a manner satisfac- 
tory to those who heard him. His speech was republished in the agri- 
cultural journals of the country, and translated into Spanish in the island 
of Cuba. 

After a fair trial, he did not find that the pursuit of agriculture gave 
sufficient occupation to his mind ; and on the re-organization of the 
state judiciary in 1846, he accepted again a seat in the new court, of 
which his old friend and colleague. Judge Eustis, was appointed chief 
justice, and he is now a member of that high tribunal. 

It does not comport with the design of this work to review the de- 
cisions in which he has been the organ of the court. But it may be 
said that they are remarkable for vigor, logic and learning, as well as 
for always calling things by their right name, without the least regard 
to persons or position. The stern rebuke of his censure is said to have 
driven from the bar several men who disgraced it ; and cases of fraud, 
which constituted their sole practice, have become comparatively scarce. 

The Supreme Court of Louisiana deserves in this and other respects 
to be held up as an example. It has equity as well as law jurisdiction, 
and the cases that come before it are frequently to be decided under 
diflerent systems of jurisprudence. The Mississippi may be said to be 
the dividing line between the two great jurisdictiuns of the civil and of 



120 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

the common law into which this continent is divided ; and New-Orleans 
is the place where the two systems meet, and nearly all the conflicts 
between them occur. The cases in which they arise are known to be 
the most intricate and difficult in jurisprudence. Notwithstanding this, 
the court has decided thirty-five hundred cases in less than six years, 
and none are ever left on its docket at the end of each year that coun- 
sel are willing to try. The unequaled facility of recovering debts in 
Louisiana, has become proverbial amongst northern merchants. 

It is not out of place to mention that the military education of Mr. 
Rost enabled him to acquire distinction of another kind. At Natchez 
a company of artillery was formed, of which he was first lieutenant, and 
under his drilling it became in time quite respectable. His famf as a 
martinet followed him to Red River, and he was made in succession 
lieutenant-colonel and colonel of the 19th regiment of Louisiana Militia. 
At the first general muster after his appointment, two hundred and 
seventy-three privates did not answer to their names. He had every 
one of them fined, and caused those who refused to pay the fine to be 
confined in the common jail for seventy-two hours, as he was authorized 
by law to do. The parties punished were very much exasperated, but 
they did not miss muster again ; and at the next yearly review, the regi- 
ment proved to be by far the best drilled and disciplined of any in the 
state. 

We will close this notice by stating, on reliable authority, that Mr, 
Rost attributes much of his success at the bar to his uniform popularity 
with courts and juries; and the latter, to a strict adherence on his part 
to the rules of conduct he had prescribed for himself at the beginning 
of his forensic career; these were, never to misrepresent the facts of his 
case — never to speak when he had nothing to say — never to repeat 
what he had once said. 

He ever kept in mind, that although judges and juries are compelled 
to listen, persuasion is impossible when the compulsion is permitted to 
be felt. He took pains not to weary their patience. He addressed 
himself at once to the strong points of his case, and when his story was 
told he was done. The mathematical education he had received, here 
bore its fruits. He would as soon have thought of repeating a demon- 
stration in geometry, as a legal argument. In this respect, as well as 
in earnestness of manner and form of thought, he has been said to be 
not unlike John C, Calhoun. 





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OF vroHCESTER, M£.SSACBIISETTS - 



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J^Tt^^forBwgrapluoal/ Skst^ies of Srrunen^^Tnerican/Zawyers- 



HON. PLINY MERRICK, 

OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

Mr. ISIerrick is a descendant from a family of English emigrants, 
who oanie to this country soon after the landing of the Pilgrims at 
Plymouth. His ancestor, Thomas Merrick, arrived here about the 
year lOoO, and was one of the first settlers of the town of Springfield, 
on the Connecticut River, where he is known to have resided in 1036, 
and until his death, nearly fifty years afterwards. His descendants are 
numerous and respectable. ]\lany of them still dwell in the vallev ot 
the Connecticut, near the location he selected for his residence, while 
others have found homes in different and distant states of the Union. 

The father of ^Ir. Alerrick was a member of the legal profession. 
He established himself at Brookfield, a pleasant village, situate neai'ly 
midway between Springfield and Boston, in the midst of a prosperous 
agricultural community. He was a good lawyer ; but his personal in- 
tegrity, more than his professional ability, gave him title to the respect 
he possessed. He died before his son had completed his collegiate 
education. 

Mr. ]\Ierriek was born in Brookfield in 1794, and was graduated at 
Harvard University in 1814. He maintained there a good reputation 
for talents and scholarship, in a class of which Professor Walker, of 
Cambridge, William H. Prescott, the historian, and others well known 
in their respective avocations, were members. Immediately after leav- 
ing college, he entered the office of Gov, Levi Lincoln, of Worcester, 
one of the most distinguished of the lawyers of Massachusetts, as a 
student, and continued under his tuition until his admission to the courts 
as an attorney in 1817. His subsequent life has been given almost 
exclusively to his profession. 

He brought to the bar qualities which, sooner or later, are sure to 
command suceess. A quick, clear, vigorous mind, well trained and 
enlarged by liberal culture — generous and manly aims — graceful and 
winning manners — a love of justice, and a thorough detestation of every 
species of craft, low cunning, and fraud, could not fail to be ultimately 
appreciated and rewarded by an intelligent community. 

He commenced his professional practice in Worcester, under the 
pressure of a considerable indebtedness, which had been incurred in the 
expenses of his education, and from which it cost him the struggle of 
several years to extricate himself. But he never despaired, and was 
never unmindful that it was one of the first of his duties to discharge 
the pecuniary obligations he was under to those whose kindness had 
aflbrded him assistance. Anxious to make this return, but not meeting 
with the immediate encouragement at Worcester which would enable 
him to effect it so early as he desired, he removed, in the hope of im- 
proving his condition, to the county of Bristol. He remained there 
until 1824, being a part of the intermediate time a law partner of Gov. 
Marcus Morton. He then returned to Worcester, where he has ever 
since resided. 



122 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

During the early part of his professional life his business was incon- 
siderable, and his prospects were apparently unpromising ; but, though 
he felt some solicitude for the future, he never gave way to idle de- 
spondency, nor once thought of being diverted from the course he had 
resolved to pursue. He had leisure for study, for observation, and for 
the acquisition of practical knowledge, and he used it with a wise fore- 
cast. In these years of apparent failure, he laid the foundation for a 
higher and wider success than that which results in mere accumulation 
of gain and profit. While diligently seeking to make himself acquainted 
with the science of the law, he did not neglect more graceful and gener- 
ous studies; nor in the seclusion of study did he forget to qualify him- 
self for a life of activity and business, by obtaining a practical knowledge 
of men and the affairs of society. 

Very early after his return to Worcester a great change occurred in 
his circumstances, and happier prospects opened to his exertions. His 
retainers were increased, his engagements multiplied, and his rise from 
that period was marked and rapid. He entered then into the higher 
walks of his profession as a counselor and advocate. He had now 
ample use for all the materials which his previous diligence had col- 
lected ; and, almost at once, he advanced into an extensive and varied 
practice ; limited, in fact, only by his capacity of labor and power of 
endurance. It frequently occurred that he was employed as senior 
counsel in every cause that was tried at the terms of the courts in the 
county of Worcester. He was retained also in important causes in 
other parts of the commonwealth, and occasionally also in the neigh- 
boring states of New-Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island. His 
habits of business had become thoroughly regulated, his perceptions 
were rapid, and his application close, constant, and unremitting. It 
was by these means that he was enabled to bring the multiflirious en- 
gagements in which he was employed to a prosperous issue. He 
derived no advantage from any system of division of labor, for in pro- 
fessional practice in the interior counties of Massachusetts no such 
division was known. The advocate was there required not only to bo 
flmiiliar with the principles of law in its various departments, but to be 
capable also of adapting himself to the management of the minutest 
details of proceeding in the courts, and in the preliminary preparation 
for trial. To meet every exigency without filtering or hesitation — to 
.'<) all that is rapidly and continually falling upon his hands with con 
Kumrnate tact and" ability — and to add to the work the charm of 
eloquence, and the finish which liberal studies alone can impart — de- 
mands no trifling measure of original power, invigorated by the acquis! 
tiuns of untiring industry. 

Such vigor of application and such constancy of employment pro- 
duced their inevitable consequences. Mr. Merrick relieved himself 
from all pecuniary embarrassment, and succeeded to a position, not, 
indeed, of aftluence, but of ease, of competency, and independence; and, 
what to a generous mind is of still higher gratification, he found himself 
surrounded by friends, and sustained by the confidence of the public, 
alike in his personal and professional charactei. 

While in full private practice, he was appointed attorney for the 
commonwealth in one of the four districts into which it was divided. 



' PLISr MERRICK, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 123 

He retained the office, by successive appointments, until he was trans- 
ferred to the bench. Firm, but courteous and humane, intimately 
conversant with the criminal law, and accustomed to great exactness in 
the conduct of all his atlairs, he made an admirable prosecuting officer. 
While he forbore no labor and spared no pains to fix upon the guilty 
the legal penalties of transgression, he was never known to press for a 
conviction merely because an accusation had been made, or an indict- 
ment presented. His labors in this department of the government, so 
essential to the welfare of the state and the security of its citizens, were 
rewarded by their constant and warmest approbation. 

In 1843, Mr. Merrick was placed upon the bench of the Court of 
Common Pleas, which, in Massachusetts, is invested with an extended 
civil and criminal jurisdiction, and which has been adorned by some of 
her best jurists. In accepting a judicial office, he assumed the discharge 
of duties in which the eminent advocate is by no means always success- 
ful. But he was not of the number who fail ; he soon increased the 
reputation he had acquired at the bar. He carried to the bench the 
manners of a gentleman, and presided in his court not only with dignity, 
but with urbanity and kindness. His clear and discriminating mind, 
his ready perception of the true issues to be investigated, his quick 
analysis, and his happy faculty of laying everything clearly and plainly 
before the jury, enabled him to execute his office acceptably, and very 
early established a high judicial reputation. 

Ill the autumn of 1848, he was uigently solicited to come to the 
rescue of an enterprise thought to be of great importance to the city of 
"Worcester, which had been commenced, but was then laboring under 
the severest depression and embarrassment. He yielded somewhat 
reluctantly to that solicitation, and, resigning his judicial office, was 
chosen president of the Worcester and Nashua Rail-road Company. 
To the ne\T species of labor to which he was thus called, he applied 
himself with vigor, and evinced in it sound discretion and great practi- 
cal intelligence. His energy, perseverance and personal influence over- 
came all obstacles in its way. He carried forward the work of the 
cor])oratiun, till their road was done, their buildings completed, and 
their cars running on the track ; and he then chose to withdraw from 
the company, and leave their operations to be conducted by those who 
had a more direct and immediate interest in its prosperity. 

But though he was thus temporarily diverted fiom his own appro 
priate avocations, he was unwilling long to be absent from those pursuits 
to which it had been his constant purpose to devote his life. Having 
brought the enterprise in which he had been engaged to a prosperous 
termination, he turned again, with undiminished zeal and unabated 
power, to his chosen profession. His services were promptly sought 
fur in the circle of his former labors with eagerness and avidity, and he 
was renewing a full career of employment in the courts, when a vacancy 
occurred upon the bench he had left. The seat was tendered to him by 
Gov. Briggs, and was accepted ; being the only instance in Massachu- 
setts in which an individual has been re-appointed to a judical office from 
which he had once voluntarily retired. This second appointment was 
the more honorable to him, as it was conferred by a chief magistrate to 



12-t SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

whom, politically, as the representative of the predominant party in the 
state, he had been long and constantly opposed. 

Judge Merrick has been seen but little in political life. The demo- 
cratic party with which he is associated have not often secured the as- 
cendency in Massachusetts, and it has not therefore been in its power 
to confer distinction upon its members by party patronage. But he 
has enjoyed the confidence of his political friends, who have accorded 
to him such manifestations of respect and attachment as a minority can 
bestow. He has often been their candidate for places of trust and posts 
of honor and responsibility, and under their nomination he was elected, 
in 1849, to the Senate of the Commonwealth. As one of the most 
prominent members of the party, he occupied an important position ia 
the legislature, and exercised an eflective and salutary influence over 
the proceedings of the body to which he belonged. Had he been con- 
tinued in that sphere of action, valuable results might have been antici- 
pated from his wide experience and judicious counsels; but before the 
occurrence of another session of the legislature, he was again in judicial 
office under his second appointment. 

It is in his professional character, as an advocate and as a judge, that 
he is chiefly known, and will be hereafter remembered. As an advo- 
cate, he was eminently successful ; yet it was against no feeble minds 
that he achieved his distinction at the bar. Better lawyers are seldom 
seen in our courts than John Davis, now a senator in Congress from 
Massachusetts ; and Samuel Hoar, of Concord, whose solid learning and 
inexhaustible ingenuity are themes of praise wherever he is known. Jt 
was with such men that he had to contend, and he proved himself equal 
to the contest. Always buoyant and indefatigable, he never failed to 
be ready at the commencement of the race, nor exhibited fatigue till he 
had reached its close. One must have heard his addresses to a jury, 
fully to have understood his merits as a jury lawyer. His approaches 
to them were in the gentlest terms, and he secured a lodgment in their 
hearts before he began his appeal to their understanding. His manner 
was easy and graceful ; fluent in his delivery, his voice was clear, rich 
in its tones, and admirably modulated. He had a singular felicity in 
the command of language : copious without redundancy, the right word 
always fell in the right place. He saw distinctly the point in issue 
which he was to reach, and he went directly to it. In grouping facts, 
seemingly remote and disconnected, and in bringing them to bear with 
combined effect upon the designed end, his talent and ingenuity some- 
times seemed wonderfully great. He reasoned with the caution and 
closeness of a logician. But his powers of persuasion surpassed even 
his force of argument; and his eloquent and to-uching appeals to the 
hearts of his hearers, revived in his own county the memory of Francis 
Blake — a brilliant genius of an earlier day, of whose superior merits too 
little is remembered, and of whose productions too few have survived 
him to ensure the durability of the fame he deserved. 

Judge Merrick has been of counsel in many causes which will have 
a lasting remembrance. But of his forensic efll)rts few were ever re- 
ported, and no written trace remains of arguments which, in the hour of 
their delivery, held listening audiences in admiring attention. Of the 



PLINY MERRICK, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 125 

inconsiderable number of those which have been preserved, allusion 
may be made to his defence of Professor Webster. The report of his 
argument on that occasion, contained in the full and accurate report of 
the trial published by George Bemis, Esq., one of the counsel for the 
government, fully sustains the opinion expressed of it by those who 
were present at its delivery. No criminal trial has occurred in the 
United States which attracted such universal attention or excited so 
intense and painful an interest. Nor was there ever one in which coun- 
sel for the accused discharged their duty under a pressure so severe 
and terrible. It is impossible for those at a distance from the scene to 
appreciate its force. They who were spectators, who carefully watched 
the whole proceedings, and who felt as well as saw the fatal character 
of the evidence growing hourly in irresistible conclusiveness, witnessed 
also the devoted ability and skill with which it was met and contested. 
They, and among them were some of the most distinguished and dis- 
criminating citizens of the commonwealth, bore the strongest testimony 
to the vigor and ingenuity with which the prosecution was resisted ; and 
gave assurances in various ways to Judge Merrick, that his closing ad- 
dress to the jury was, under the distressing and overwhelming circum- 
stances against which he had to contend, one of the ablest and most 
eloquent arguments ever heard in the courts of Massachusetts. 

The life of Judge Merrick, as an advocate merely, is undoubtedly 
finished. He is now upon the bench under his second appointment, en- 
joying the confidence of all parties, and the cordial esteem and respect 
of the bar. By those who are the more immediate witnesses of his 
course in that responsible station, a gratifying testimonial has been re- 
cently tendered to him ; and the hope emphatically expressed, that his 
life and health may be preserved, and the public permitted for many 
years to enjoy the benefit of his judicial labors. 




i 



icgi-by a 3^^°-'^ 



IHIOB-o RlEUBMir EI o ^^"AIL WORTH, 



HON. REUBEN II. WALWORTH, 

• THE LAST OF THE NEW-YORK CHANCELLORS. 

Under a government like ours, where there are no privileged 
classes, and where no hereditary distinctions exist, it very frequently 
happens that the most important and responsible offices are held by 
those of whom it may very properly be said, they have been the pio- 
neers of their own fortunes — men who have received little or no assist- 
ance from wealthy or influential relatives, but who are indebted for 
their success in life to their own industry and perseverance. Indeed, 
this is generally the case in the United States ; and it is easy to see 
why it should be so. Native talent is not confined to any class of 
society ; though, as a general rule, it may reasonably be presumed 
that the children of intellectual parents will have more natural talent 
than the children of the ignorant, the stupid, or the imbecile. The 
sons of the wealthy, however, or of those who occupy situations of 
great power or influence, are too often found to rely upon the wealth 
or the influence of their parents, and seldom acquire those habits of 
industry, perseverance and energy which are essential to succcess. 
On the other hand, those whose parents are poor, or belong to the 
m.iddle classes of society, being early taught the necessity of relying 
upon their own exertions, will be more apt to acquire that information 
and those business habits which alone can fit them for the discharge of 
important public trusts, and that industry and perseverance which 
usually ensure success. 

The subject of this biographical sketch was the third son of Benja- 
min Walworth ; and as many of the children and descendants of the 
latter have been members of the legal profession, or otherwise con- 
nected with the administration of justice, it may not be improper here 
to give a brief account of his family. 

Benjamin Walworth, who was the youngest of nine brothers and 
sisters, was the grandson of William Walworth, of Groton, in Con- 
necticut, who came to this country, from the neighborhood of London, 
near the close of the seventeenth century, with Governor Fitz John 
Winthrop. He lost his father in 1750, when he was only four years 
of age. He learned the trade of a hatter, and worked at it for several 
years after he arrived at manhood. In the early part of the Revolution 
he was adjutant of Colonel Stevens' New- York regiment, in the service 
of the United States, and was in the battle of White Plains. After the 
term of service of the regiment had expired, he was engaged in mer- 
chandise for a few years, but relinquished it soon after his marriage, 
and became a farmer, which business he followed until his doath, in 
1812, leaving a small patrimony to each of his ten children. He was 
for many years an active politician in the county of Rensselaer, where 
he resided for the last thirty-nine years of his life ; and was a supporter 
of the administrations of Jefferson and of Madison, and usually filled 
some of the local offices in the town where he resided. He was also 



128 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AME".!CANS. 

n personal, as well as a political friend of the first Governor Clinton, 
afterwards Vice-President of the United States, and of his brother, 
General James Clinton, with whom he became acquainted in early 
life, while boarding with a near relative of theirs at Poughkeepsie. 

He married Apphia Hyde, a daughter of the Rev. Jedediah Hyde, 
a Separatist, or Baptist clergyman, of Norwich, who, at the time of her 
marriage, was the widow of Samuel Cardell, of Bozrah. On her 
father's side she was descended from William Hyde and Matthew 
Marvin, two of the first settlers of Hartford ; and through her mater- 
nal grandfather, Joseph Tracy, the second son of Mary Winslow, who 
married the first John Tracy, of Norwich, she was the fourth in descent 
from Mary Chilton, who came to Plymouth in the Mayflower, in 
1620, and married John Winslow, a brother of the governor. 

Mrs. Walworth was a very talented and intellectual lady, and had 
received as good an education as it was usual for any females to re- 
ceive previous to the Revolution ; and she was very careful to infuse 
into the minds of her children the principles of morality, religion and 
virtue, and to inculcate those habits of prudence, industry and perse- 
verance, which were afterwards so conducive to their success in life 
after they left the paternal roof 

William S. Cardell, her only child by her first husband, but who 
died many years since, became a distinguished scholar and teacher, and 
was the author of some valuable school-books and other literary and 
scientific works. Major John Walworth, her first son by the chancel- 
lor's father, was an officer in the army of the United States during the 
last war with England, and distinguished himself at the taking of Little 
York, where he led the advances under the command of General Pike, 
and was wounded by the side of that gallant officer at the time that 
the latter was killed. At the close of the war he left the army and 
settled at Plattsburgh, and was subsequently elected to the office of 
clerk of Clinton county, and continued to be elected from time to time 
until 1829, when he was appointed assistant-register of the Court of 
Chancery. He held this last office until his death, in 1839, and 
discharged its duties to the perfect satisfaction of the court and the 
bar. 

James Clinton Walworth, the second son, is a successful farmer in 
the county of Otsego, and was for many years a judge of the Court of 
Common Pleas of that county. Benjamin, the fourth son, is a distin- 
guished physician and surgeon, residing at Fredonia, and was for seve- 
ral years one of the associate judges of the county of Chautauque. 
Jedediah H. Walworth, the fifth son, was a member of the bar of 
Washington county, but died in 1827, a year or two after he was 
licensed to practice. Hiram, the youngest son, was, during the life of 
his brother, the assistant-register, his deputy\ He had the exclusive 
management of the financial concerns of the office, and the investment 
and control of several millions of money which were brought into 
court in the city of New- York ; which duty he discharged with great 
prudence and fidality. Upon the death of his brother, he succeeded 
him in the office of assistant-register, which he held until he was in- 
duced to resiiin it on account of the loss of his sight. Oliver L. Bar- 
bour, the present reporter of the Supreme Court, is a son of the oldest 



REUBEN H. WALWORTH, OF NEW-YORK. 129 

daughter ; and Chancellor Walworth has three other nephews who are 
members of the bar in this state, and another who is a member of the 
profession in Wisconsin. 

IJcnben TTyde Walworth, the late chancellor, was born on the UOth 
of October, 1789, at Bozrah, a part of the nine miles square originally 
embraced within the bounds of the town of Norwich, in Connecticut ; 
and in February, 1793, he removed with his father's family to the 
town of Hoosick, in the State of New-York. He was brought up a 
farmer until the age of seventeen, with no advantages of education 
but such as could be obtained by attending the ordinary public schools 
of that day, during that part of the year when his services were not 
required on the farm. " Yet so anxious was he to get an education that, 
at the age of twelve, he went from home and worked through the 
winter, mornings and evenings, for his board, that he might have the 
advantage of a better common school than that in the vicinity of his 
father's residence. At the age of sixteen, he was himself a teacher of 
a village school during the winter months. He was also engaged in 
the same employment during the following winter." The only classical 
education which he ever received was for about f()urteen weeks, while 
he was for the first time enmiged in the business of school teaching 
himself. During that time, when he was not engaged in his school, he 
studied the Latin language and mathematics, under the advice and 
direction of Mr. Cardell, his half brother, who had received a liberal 
education. 

To a disability similar to that which the unrivaled success of the 
great Scotch novelist is attributed, the people of New- York were in- 
debted for the last of their chancellors. In the summer after he at- 
tained his seventeenth year, he met with an accident which incapa- 
citated him for a long time from working on a farm, and changed the 
whole course of his life. While engaged with an elder brother in 
drawing in a load of wheat from the harvest field, the loaded wagon 
was overturned, and both the wheat and the wagon were thrown down 
a precipice. Being on the top of the load, he, with his brother, was 
pitched down the precipice with it, and fell beneath the load of grain 
and the wagon, by which one of his ankles was so badly injured that his 
parents supposed he would be a cripple for life. 

x^s soon as he had sufficlentlv recovered from the efTects of this acci- 
dent, which had unfitted him for farming, as to be able to engage in 
any other business, he went into a country store for a short time as a 
clerk. While there, he became acquainted with an attorney in the 
neighborhood of the store, and he then determined to endeavor to over- 
come the obstacles of a defective education, and to prepare himself for 
the bar. lie entered his name with the attorney, and continued to 
study law under the direction of the latter for a few months, while he 
continued to discharge the duties of a merchant's clerk. But as the 
lawyer under whose direction he commenced his legal studies possessed 
very few books, and not a very extensive practice, he finally induced 
his father to furnish him the means of pursuing his studies at what was 
then the village of Troy — the place where the courts of the county 
were held, and where there were several lawyers of eminence in their 
profession. „ 



130 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

In the selection of an ofTioc in which to pursue his legal studies, he 
was particularly fortunate in obtaining a first-rate legal instructor, 
whose office has become somewhat celebrated for the number of judicial 
officers who have received the whole or some part of their professional 
education there. The gentleman whose office he entered at Troy, and 
who had recently removed from the county of Washington, was Mr. 
John Russell, formerly state's attorney for the northern district of 
New- York, who died in the prime of life some forty years since. This 
gentleman, whose name as counsel frequently appears in the first ten 
volumes of Johnson's Reports, was one of the eminent lawyers of his 
day, and was said to be the best common law practitioner in the state. 
Hence, although Mr. Walworth was the only student in the office at 
the time when he first entered it, he had six or seven associates before 
he left there, three years afterwards. Among them were two others 
who have filled high judicial stations — William L. Marcy, afterwards 
one of [he justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New- York ; 
and George Monell, who subsequently was the chief justice of the State 
of Michigan, were among the number. 

John Woodworth, who became the attorney-general of the State of 
New- York, and was subsequently a judge of the Supreme Court, built 
the office, and occupied it for several years ; and Chief Justice Savage, 
and Nathan Williams, for many years circuit judge for the fifth circuit, 
as well as Mr. Russell, who subsequently owned and occupied the san^.e 
oflSce, were among the students who received their legal education 
therein. 

For the purpose of enabling him to pursue his studies to greater ad- 
vantage, Mr. Walworth, when he commenced his studies there, had a 
sleeping-bunk placed in the office, and lodged there most of the time 
during the three years he continued to be a student with Mr. Russell. 
At the end of the first year he had been so successful in acquiring a 
knowledge of the practice and of legal principles, that his legal instructor 
entrusted him with the whole charge of the office, and with the draft- 
ing of all the ordinary pleadings and proceedings ; and at the end of 
the second year he voluntarily oflTercd him a year's board, on account 
of the services he perfiirmed beyond what was usually expected of 
students preparing themselves for the bar. At the age of twenty he 
was admitted to the bar of the Court of Common Pleas, and, in con 
nection with Mr. John Palmer, who was licensed as an attorney of the 
Supreme Court about the same time, he commenced the practice of the 
law at Plattsburgh, in the county of Clinton. 

Mr. Russell, who, in his official capacity of public prosecutor or dis- 
trict attorney for the northern district of New-York, had frequently 
visited Plattsburgh, and was well acquainted there, gave to his late stu- 
dent letters of introduction to some of the most influential gentlemen 
of Clinton county, strongly recommending him to their patronage and 
support, as a talented, industrious, and well-informed young lawyer. 
This enabled him to get some legal business at once, without those har- 
assing delays which so often discourage young gentlemen of the bar 
at the commencement of their professional career. But according to 
the then practice of the courts, process was only made returnable at 
the regular terms ; and no trial, or even judgment by default, could b' 



EEUBEX n. WALWORTH, OF NEW-YORK, 131 

entered thereon until the seco-nd term after the return of the capias. 
The firm of Palmer and Walworth, therefore, had no suits of their own 
to attend to in court, until about nine months after they first located 
themselves at Plattsburgh. Mr. Walworth, however, was not idle in the 
meantime. 

Soon after he removed to Plattsburgh he was attacked by an epi- 
demic that then prevailed there, and was prostrated thereby for three 
or four weeks, which is the only severe sickness that he has ever expe- 
rienced of more than a day or two's continuance. That epidemic proved 
fatal to many adults; and, among others, to one of the members of a 
legal firm in an extensive practice, who usually attended to the argu- 
ment and trial of the co-partnership causes. Shortly after Mr. Wal- 
worth had recovered from his sickness so far as to be able to attend to 
business, the S'Urviving member of that firm applied to him for profes- 
sional assistance, informed him that his deceased partner had left him 
with about twenty causes to be argued upon questions of law, or to be 
tried by jury, at the term which was to be held in the ensuing month. 
And although he was offered only the stinted fee of fifteen dollars t'ov 
the service, Mr. Walworth readily accepted the offer, wisely concluding 
that what he tailed to receive as an adequate pecuniary compensation, 
would be made up to him in professional reputation as a source of 
future profit. He accordingly prepared himself for the trial and argu- 
ment of all those causes, and at the next term of the court performed 
the service required of him to the perfect satisfaction of his employer, 
and also of the clients. The result was, as he had anticipated, that he 
secured to his own firm the future business of many of those clients. It 
also brought him to the notice of many business men of the county, 
who attended court at that term, as an energetic and talented young 
lawyer, to whom they or their friends might safely entrust the prose- 
cution or defence of their legal rights. 

The other member of the firm, Mr. Palmer, who was likewise a man 
of talent, and a good advocate, assisted in the trial and argument of 
some of the causes, by which he was also brought to the notice of the 
public. From that time business began to flow into their office rapidly ; 
and during the eleven or twelve years that the co-partnership of Palmer 
and Walworth continued, no legal firm in the county did a more profita- 
ble professional business. 

Although Mr. Walworth made it a rule to accept no office or employ- 
ment which would interfere with his professional business and his duty 
to his clients, and frequently declined the offers of his friends to present 
his name as a candidate for the state legislature, he readily availed him- 
self of the offer of local offices connected with the law, the duties of which 
could be discharged by him without interfering with his practice in the 
courts. 

Two years after he settled at Plattsburgh, he was appointed by Gover- 
nor Tompkins a justice of the peace for the county of Clinton, and a 
master of the Court of Chancery. Both of these offices he held, with the 
exception of a single year, until his appointment as circuit judge, in the 
spring of 1823. In 1817 he received the appointment of notary public. 
In the ensuing year the legislature passed a law creating the office of 
commissioner to perform certain duties of a judge of the Supreme Court, 



132 SKETCPIES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

for the northern part of the state. And shortly afterwards Governor 
Clinton tendered that office to Mr. Walworth, which he accepted. 

The writer of a recent biographical sketch of the late chancellor says, 
that '• in confidence of his ability, by his professional talents, to sustain 
the burthens and expenses of a family, Mr. Walworth, soon after he 
became a lawyer, formed that happy matrimonial connection, the disso- 
lution of which, by the death of his wife, in 1847, may be deemed the 
greatest misfortune of his life. Though he lost, in 1812, by the acci- 
dental destruction of his house by fire, all the avails of his previous la- 
bors, events soon proved that his reliance on his own powers were not 
misplaced. He had at once entered on a most successful practice, which 
would have conducted not only to professional eminence, but to pecu- 
niary aflluence, had he not, at an age at which few young men can be con- 
sidered to have seriously engaged in the business of life, been called by 
his fellow-citizens to the councils of the nation, his labors in which had 
scarcely terminated befoie his talents were demanded in the then new 
organization of the judiciary of the state." 

The lady above alluded to, who became the wife of Mr. Walworth, 
in January, 1812, a few days after she had entered upon her seventeenth 
year, was Maria Ketchum Averill, the eldest daughter of Mr. Nathan 
Averill, of Plattsburgh. And as the success in life of every one, par- 
ticulaily of a professional man, is intimately connected with the selec- 
tion which he makes of a wife, it may not be inappropriate here to 
introduce the following extract from a published sermon, upon the oc- 
f-asion of the death of the late Mrs. Walworth. In reference to her 
domestic and social character, her pastor says: 

'4n all the relations of the family circle she was most faithful and 
successful ; as daughter, wife and mother, she will be mourned by those 
who survive, as few are mourned. 

"In her native chaiacter, there was an uncommon loveliness, most 
attractive to all around her, making it easy for her to secure the friend- 
ship of her acquaintances; and an artlessness and ingenuousness which 
were certain to retain the aflection which had been gained. Few persons, 
it is believed, had so many warm friends. These are all left with bleed- 
ing hearts to seek to comfort each other with the recollection of the 
virtues of the departed. 

"Perhaps if any single trait of her character were to be specified as 
surpassing all others in distinctness and excellence, her philanthropy, 
her almost unbounded benevolence, should be named. And yet this 
was the result of a combination of qualities of the highest order, a;id 
was merely the exhibition of these in action. Her liberality was of 
the kind which shrinks not from sacrifice. She was ready at all times to 
deny herself personal gratification, that she might thus add to the already 
large amount which every year she contributed for human happiness. 
She had a heart open to every demand of charity. She did not over- 
look the heathen because they are far away, — her attachment to the 
missionary cause, and to missionaries themselves, will be attested by 
many a herald of the cross in the distant parts of ihe world. At the 
same time she did not overlook the wants of those suffering around 
her, nor did she shrink from labor and toil in their behalf. She went 
to the houses of the poor and needy, dispensing her charity everywhere, 



REUBEN n. WALWORTH, OF N^W-YORK. 133 

and making it doubly precious by her sympathy and kindness. In 
this, she was, all her life, a model most worthy of imitation. There 
was no claim upon her kind feeling or benevolent action which was not 
at once promptly met. Everything especially which related to the 
poor and the degraded, awakened her warmest sympathy. In the 
Sabbath-school cause she was deeply interested, as the tears of the little 
children crowding around her lifeless body bore witness. For the poor 
inebriate she felt great solicitude, — some, reformed by her influence, 
live to call her their best earthly benefactress, and to lament her death. 
With her dying hands she made a generous contribution, I believe the 
last of a public nature, to relieve the wants of the suffering families of 
the intemperate. There was no impulse in her manner of giving and 
acting for her Master, — it was the natural, every-day movement of her 
soul. Her name became a proverb among us for beneficence, and as 
such, cannot be forgotten until all have followed her to the grave who 
knew her. She seemed to be acting continually as if she would merit 
the language of approbation which the Master bestowed upon one of 
her sisters in olden time: 'She hath done what she could' — and who 
among us has better deserved it ?" 

By this lady. Chancellor Walworth had two sons and four daughters, 
all of whom, except the youngest daughter, who died at the age of five 
years, are still living. 

In the spring of 1851, Chancellor Walworth formed a second matri- 
monial connection with Mrs. Sarah Ellen Hardin, of Jacksonville, in 
the State of Illinois, the talented and accomplished widow of the late 
Col. John J. Hardin, of the first regiment of Illinois volunteers in the 
late war with Mexico, who fell at the battle of Buena Vista, and who 
was one of the most distinguished members of the bar in the western 
states. By this lady the late chancellor has one son. 

But to return to his early professional history and pursuits. Residing 
near the northern frontier of the United States durins the late war with 
England, which commenced in 1813, and lasted three years, and Platts- 
burgh being a military post during most of the time, he became ac- 
quainted with many of the officers of our army, and was frequently 
employed by them as their professional adviser, and often extricated 
them from difficulties in which they became involved with citizens. 

In the spring of 1814, while the army, under the command of Maj. Gen. 
Wilkinson, was stationed at Plattsburgh, a subaltern officer belonging to 
the British army came to that place in the character of a deserter, and in 
the disguise of a common soldier, and as such received a permit from the 
commanding officer to pass into the interior as far as Albany ; but his 
real object was to ascertain the number and situation of our army on the 
northern frontier, and to learn the progress which had been made in the 
construction of the vessels of war which our government was then build- 
ing at Vergennes for the lake service. Having accomplished the ob- 
ject for which he came out, he was returning into Canada, in a citizen's 
dress, with the information he had obtained, when he was recognized 
and arrested within a few rods of the British lines, and was brought 
back as a prisoner to the American camp at Plattsburgh. A general 
court martial was immediately ordered for his trial. And such was the 
standing whicJi Mr. Walworth had already acquired at the bar, although 



134 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

he was not yet entitled to an admission as a counselor of the Supreme 
Coui-t, that he was selected and appointed by General Wilkinson as 
the judge advocate to conduct the proceedings upon that important 
trial, and on the trial of a colonel in the army, whose case was to be 
brought before the same military tribunal. Those services were per- 
formed with credit to himself, and to the entire satisfaction of the com- 
manding general ; and the unfortunate Lieut. Baker was condemned 
and executed as a spy of the enemy. 

'ihe village in which Mr. Walworth resided was twice visited by the 
enemy during that war ; and, as might be expected from what has 
been before stated, he could not remain a mere spectator when his 
country was not only engaged in what he deemed to be a just war, but 
was actually invaded by the enemy's troops. He sought for and ob- 
tained the appointment of aid to Major-General Mooers, with the rank 
of major in the militia of the state. He was in the service of his 
country in that capacity in 1813, when a brigade of the enemy, under 
the command of Colonel Murray, landed at Plattsburgh, and destroyed 
the arsenal, and the barracks at Piker's cantonment. But General 
Mooers, and the small body of militia which was called out at that 
time, were obliged to retire before a much superior force. 

When the British again invaded the northern part of New- York with 
an army of 14,000 regular troops, in September, 1814, and came as far 
south as Plattsburgh, Brigadier-General Macomb, who had been left by 
General Izard in command of the forts at that place with a garrison of 
1,500 regulars, made a requisition upon Major-General Mooers, under 
authority from the President, to order into the service of the United 
States his whole division, with the exception of the brigade in Columbia 
county. The division vvas called out accordingly ; and Gen. Mooers, 
being the superior officer, took the command of the militia called out, 
and of such volunteers as arrived at Plattsburgh previous to the retreat 
of the enemy, though he left General Macomb in command of the forts. 
Major Walworth, who was stil! one of the aids of the major-general, 
was assigned by the latter to discharge the duties of adjutant-general 
of the forces under the command of the latter. 

When we recollect the despondency which the capture of Washing- 
ton, and the destruction of the capitol by the British, during the preced- 
ing month, had universally created, and when we connect the victory 
of Commodore McDonough on Lake Champlain with the achievements 
of the militia and volunteei's under Major-General Mooers, and of the 
regulars under Brigadier-General Macomb, the occurrences at Platts- 
burgh must be reckoned among the most glorious events to which the 
war of 1812 gave rise. The whole American forces consisted of 700 
militia and 1,500 regulars, while the British troops amoiuited to 14,000 ; 
a disparity even far surpassing that at New-Orleans. 

On the evening of the 5th of September, the right wing of the British 
army was advanced on the Beekmantown road to within seven or eight 
miles of the village of Plattsburgh. Sometime in the evening Major 
General Mooers, whose head-quarters were on the same road, some two 
or three miles nearer the village, expressed his regret that he had no 
regular troops to support the militia and volunteers in the anticipated 
conflict with the advancing enemy the next day. The acting adjutant 



heuben ii. walwoutii, of new-york. 135 

general immediately volunteered his services to proeeod at once to 
Brigadier-General Macomb's Cjuarters at the village, and near the forts, 
■with an order for him to detach two or three companies of infantry and 
one of light artillery from the garrison under his command, and that 
they should report themselves to General Mooers at Beekmantown 
the next morning. An order to that eflect was accordingly made out, 
and Major Walworth proceeded at once to General Macomb's quarters 
and delivered such order. The night being very dark, he did not deem 
it prudent to attempt to return to Beekmantown that night. He slept 
upon the floor of his own deserted mansion in the village until daylight, 
and then rode back to head -quarters. 

He had just finished a light breakfast, when information was brought 
that the enemy was upon the advance. He was thereupon ordered by 
the general to select two companies of the Clinton county regiment of 
militia, and proceed about a mile to the creek which crossed the road, 
and take up the bridge, so as to retard the advance of the enemy's 
artillery. The order was promptly obeyed, so far as to proceed to the 
place indicated by the order. But just as the detachment under the 
command of Major Walworth commenced the destruction of the bridge, 
the enemy approached in force and commenced firing upon them, 
w(;unding two of the detachment severely, and one of them mortally. 
The fire was returned ; and the detachment was then ordered to fall 
back to where Major Wool, with about 150 regulars, who had been de- 
tached from the garrison under the order of the evening previous, had 
already arrived and was stationed. 

The i-egulars were then formed in the highway, and with the detach- 
ment of militia on their flanks, waited the approach of the enemy, when 
a heavy fire was opened upon the head of the British column and 
momentarily arrested its progress. But the brigade of the enemy 
which wa; advancing being 3,500 strong, the regulars under the gal- 
lant Wool, as well as Major Walworth's detachment of militia, were 
soon compelled to give way and fall back to where the commanding 
general, with the main body of the militia and volunteers, was station- 
ed. At that point the fighting became general, and continued so at 
intervals until the enemy's forces reached the village, and our troops 
had placed themselves behind the Saranac, which runs through the vil- 
lage north of the forts. 

In a published account of this battle of the Gth of September, 1814, 
commonly called the Battle of Beekmantown, Major Walworth is 
specially named as one of the officers who, in connection with Major 
Wool, succeeded in rallying the militia and regulars that awaited the 
approach of the enemy at Culvus Hill, about four miles from Platts- 
burgh ; which position was maintained with so much firmness as to 
compel the enemy to fall back for a time. It was then that the gallant 
Willington, Lieut.-Colonel of the 3d. Buffs was killed, while leading his 
regiment to the charge against our forces, and where several British 
officers were wounded. 

Major Walworth was also in the battle of the 11th of September, 
when a British brigade, under Major-General the Baron De Rotten- 
burgh, crossed the Saranac at Pike's cantonment ; and where, in the 
language of General Macomb, " they were repulsed by the brave vol- 



13G SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

unteers and militia, and suffered severely in killed, wounded, and 
prisoners." Shortly before that action, he had been sent by General 
Mooers to order the Vermont volunteers, then upon the lake shore, to 
take a position on the Saranac, at the place where the battle after- 
wards commenced. While in the performance of that duty he had the 
pleasure of witnessing the termination of the naval engagement on the 
lake ; and he brought to his commanding officer, just as the enemy 
approached the river to cross, the first intelligence of the result of that 
engagement, which not only secured to us the command of Lake 
Champlain, but, with the evidences of bravery and prowess already ex- 
hibited on the part of the militia as well as the regular army, left to 
the enemy no hope of a successful invasion of our country. After the 
termination of the war, Major Walworth received a commission from 
Governor Clinton, appointing him division judge advocate, with the 
rank of colonel. 

As we have already seen, Mr. Walworth sprang from a democratic 
stock ; and he has from his boyhood continued to be a consistent mem- 
ber of the democratic party, though many of his most devoted per- 
sonal friends belonged to the party to which he was politically op- 
posed. He has seldom been a candidate for any political office, and 
never when there was any probability of success at the time of his 
nomination. 

But in 1821, in connection with General Pitcher, who was after- 
wards lieutenant-governor, he was elected to the Congress of the 
United States, from the double district comprising the counties ot 
Washington, Warren, Clinton, Essex, and Franklin. And some idea 
of his personal popularity at that time may be formed from the fact, 
that he everywhere was a-head of his ticket, and was elected by about 
1,200 majority over the highest of the opposition candidates, in a dis 
trict where the majority given the year previous for the political party, 
to which such opposition candidates belonged, was much larger the 
other way. 

During the two years, from 1821 to 1823, that Mr. Walworth was 
in the House of Representatives, it may be safely affirmed that no 
member of Congress was more indefatigable in the performance of his 
public duties. It would be difficult to find any oc<;asion, where the yeas 
and nays are recorded, in which his name is omitted. Scarcely a day 
passed, in which the journals do not attest his presence by a reference 
of the petitions presented by him, many of which came from his im- 
mediate constituents, and to which, as arising from the invasion of our 
state during the then recent war, he himself, an actor in the memorable 
events at Plattsburgh, could not be insensible ; by the resolutions which 
he offered on matters interesting to his district, the state, or the Union; 
and by the reports which he made on behalf of the military committee 
— to which he was appointed early in the session, on the resignation of 
General Solomon Van Rensselaer, and of which he was thenceforward 
the most prouiinent member. 

It was in the discharge of these duties that he had occasion to bring 
to the notice of Congress the heroic achievements of a gallant band of his 
fellow-soldiers, at the siege of Plattsburgh, composed — like the garde 
viobile, during the late struggle in Paris — of youths below the ordinary 



REUBEN H. WALWORTH, OF NEW-YORK. 13*1 

age for military duty, cf volunteers between 15 and 17. He asked for 
each of them, what Gen. Macomb had promised on the field of battle, 
a rifle, as a memento for his services. The act obtained the assent of 
the House, but it was not until a subsequent session that it became a 
law, through the exertions of the Hon. Aaron A. Ward, of Westches- 
ter, who, as an officer of the regular army, had participated in the de- 
fence of Plattsburgh. 

In December, 1821, before he became a member of the military com- 
mittee, a resolution of the Huuse had instructed that committee to in- 
quire and report whether the army had been reduced according to the 
provisions of the act of March, 18'21, to reduce and fix the military 
peace establishment. After Colonel Walworth was substituted in the 
place of the member of the committee who had resigned his seat in 
Congress, he was requested by the chairman. Dr. Eustis, who had him- 
self been at the head of the war department a few years previous, to 
examine the legal oV^jeciions which were made to the manner in which 
Mr. Calhoun, the then Secretary of War, had carried into effect the law 
for the reduction and reorganization of the army. He subsequently 
prepared a very able report on the subject, fully sustaining the legality 
of the course which had been pursued in reducing the army ; although 
one of the decisions of Mr. Calhoun involved the dismissal from the 
service of a distinguished officer, who had been, and still was, one of 
Colonel Walworth's personal friends. This report received the appro- 
bation of Dr. Eustis, and most of the other members of the military 
committee ; and the member who had prepared it was instructed to 
present it to the House. 

This report, however, gave offence to a distinguished individual whose 
feelings had become strongly enlisted upon the other side of the ques- 
tion, and in hostility to Mr. Calhoun; and at whose request, as was 
supposed by the friends of the Secretary of War, the resolution of in- 
(|uiry had been brought before the House. To this course alone the late 
chancellor attributes the unfriendly feelings of that gentleman ; and 
which induced him a few years since to exert his inffuence as a senator 
of the United States, to prevent a confirmation of the nomination of 
Mr. Walworth as one of the associate justices of the Supreme Court. 

It was within the scope of Mr. Walworth's congressional duties, not 
only to defend the conduct of General Jackson, as governor of Florida, 
in the imprisonment of Colonel Callava, who, at the instigation and in 
connivance with others, attempted to defraud the orphan daughter of a 
deceased Spanish officer, by carrying off" the papers containing the evi- 
dence of her rights in a suit pending in the military tribunals of the 
territory, but he also had an opportunity to sustain, against the assaults 
of political opponents, the Indian Agency of General Cass, in Michigan, 
and thus early to vindicate the public services and unimpeachable fame 
of that distinguished individual. 

In connection with his friend and colleague, the late William B. 
Rochester, who was subsequently the democratic candidate for governor, 
he succeeded in defeating the attempt of one of the federal representa- 
tives of the state to deprive of their pay the officers of the court martial, 
which had tried and condemned the recreant militiamen, who had refused 
to turn out at the call of their country, when the state was invaded by 



138 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

the British army. But one of his happiest efforts on the floor of Con- 
gress, was his speech, in January, 1823, in favor of the bereaved sister 
of Lieutenant Allen, who was killed by the pirates, and whose mother 
had died before the contemplated provision in her behalf could be pass- 
ed. " I hope and trust," said he, "that the sister whose desolate situ- 
ation gave an additional pang to the heart of the dying hero — she, who 
has thus been deprived not only of the support of a kind and worthy 
brother, but also of the guardian care of a pious and afiectionale parent, 
may receive that bounty which Congress intended to bestow upon the 
mother." 

Though he voted against the bankrupt law, which was proposed 
while he w-as in Congress, he offered to meet the recent decision t>f the 
Supreme Court of the United States on the insolvent laws, by provi- 
ding, by an amendment to the Constitution, that, " till Congress shall 
establish uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the 
United States, it shall be lawful for the several states, or any of them, 
to enact bankrupt laws, in the same manner, and with the like etfect, 
as they might have done previous to the adoption of the Constitution of 
the United States. 

Mr. Walworth gave his vote in favor of an appropriation to enable 
the President to recognize the independence of the Spanish American 
states. He also called the attention of the House of Eeprescntatives 
to the British act of 5th August, 1822, which imposed upon our trade 
with Canada the most onerous restrictions, and by his course led the 
way to the assertion of our right to the navigation of the St. Lawrence 
— a right of inestimable value to the citizens of northern New- York. 

By the constitution of 1821, which went into operation on the 1st of 
January, 1823, the organization of the judiciary was materially affect- 
ed ; and by its provisions, a circuit judge was required to be appointed 
in each of the eight senatorial districts. The duties of these judges 
were not only to preside in the Courts of Oyer and Terminer, and to 
try civil causes at Nisi Prius, but they were made, subordinate to the 
chancellor, equity judges in their respective circuits. Mr. Walworth 
was appointed judge of the fourth circuit, and immediately removed to 
Saratoga Springs, his present residence. 

It is foreign to our intention to enter upon an analysis of Judge 
Walworth's judicial services. During the five years that he acted as a 
circuit judge, opportunities occurred to extend the reputation which ho 
had previously acquired at the bar and in Congress. The charges 
and sentences of the court were extensively circulated in the cases of 
the Thayers and of Vedeto, and to which, from the heinousness of the 
culprits' guilt, general attention was attracted. The sentence of the 
court in the former case is published in a popular treatise on elocution, 
as a specimen of judicial eloquence. Though the decisions of the cir- 
cuit judges were not embraced wnthin the purview of the State Reports, 
yet such was the ability with which Walworth already grappled with 
the niceties of chancery law — such the extent of his attainments in ali 
the cognate branches of jurisprudence, that with regard to him an ex- 
ception was made, and the reporter, the late Judge Cowen, introduced 
some of them with the declaration, that no excuse need be made for 
laying before the profession " such able and luminous discussions." 



REUBEN H. ■VVALWOKTII, OF NEW-YOKK. 139 

In 182:^, on Chancellor Jones' retiring from the ofTiee of chancellor, 
Judge AValworth naturally supposed that tiie otlice would be filled by 
one of the justices of the Supreme Court, and that his friend, and for- 
mer colleague in Congress, General Pitcher, then the acting governor, 
would oiler him the vacant seat upon the bench of the last mentioned 
court ; which office he would have accepted without hesitation. But on 
calling at the governor's room, as he was casually passing through Al- 
bany, he was surprised with an offer of the appointment of chancellor. 
He at once told his friend, the governor, that he ought to give the office 
to Chief Justice Savage, who was every way competent to discharge the 
duties thereof; and that if he preferred to retain the situation of chief 
justice, Mr. Justice Sutherland should be a]>pointed. And it was not 
until both of those gentlemen h;\d been consulted, and had absolutely 
refused to undertake to discha'^ge the arduous and responsililc duties of 
the office of chancellor, that JNlr. Walworth, after some hesitation, con- 
sented to accept the highest judicial office in the state. As Mr. Justice 
Woodworth would in a few months be constitutionally disqualified to 
hold the office, it was not deemed iiecessary to consult him on the 
subject. 

Chancellor Walworth received his appointment on the 22d of April, 
1828, just five years from the time he accepted the office of circuit judge, 
and on the 28th he held his first court as chancellor, and delivered writ- 
ten opinions in several cases which appear in the reports. 

In his address to the bar on assuming his seat, he thus modestly 
referred to his past and present position : " Brought up," says he, "a 
farmer till the age of seventeen, deprived of all the advantages of a 
classical education, and with a very limited knowledge of chancery law, 
I find mvself, at the age of thirty-eight, suddenly and unexpectedly 
placed at the bead of the judiciary of the state — a situation which has 
heretofore been filled by the most able and experienced members of the 
profession." 

As chancellor, not only was he called upon to decide upon the many 
complicated questions growing out of trusts, frauds, and the various 
other branches of equity jurisprudence, and also all matters involving 
the rights of infants and lunatics, as well as appeals from the surrogates 
of the fifty-nine counties of the state, and who administer what in Eng- 
land is a distinct branch of jurisprudence ; but, as a member of the Court 
of Errors, he was required to review all the intricate legal decisions 
which had been passed on by the Supreme Court, and as to which either 
of the litigating parties might be dissatisfied. 

Chancellor Walworth's adjudications in his own court are collected 
hx the fourteen volumes of Paige and Barbour, while the opinions which 
he pronounced in the Court of Errors are to be found in the thirty- 
eight volumes of Wendell, Hill and Denio. The reported cases, how- 
over, constitute but a small portion of the decisions made by him during 
the twenty years he held the office of chancellor. In addition to the 
oral decisions made in open court upon the close of the argument, or 
in cases where a mere memorandum of the decision was indorsed upon 
the papers, his written opinions fill thirty nine large folio volumes in 
manuscript. By a report made to the senate, in 183G, it appears that 
the number of decrees, and decretal orders, and other special orders 



140 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

and decisions made by the chancellor in one year only, including de- 
cisions in eases brought before him on appeals from vice-chancellors 
and surrogates, was eleven hundred and forty ; of these one hundred 
and thirty-eight were decrees made in calendar causes. But his calen- 
dai' causes did not embrace his numerous decisions in cases upon ap- 
peals from interlocutory orders of vice-chancellors ; which appeals were 
heard at the motion terms of the court, and were not placed on any 
calendar. 

No one can examine the vcilnmes which contain Chancellor Wal- 
worth's reported adjudications, without being satisfied, not only that 
he is II profound lawyer, but that his attainments in all collateral 
branches of learning are most extensive; and that in no respect does he 
yield to any judge by whom the judicial annals of our state have been 
illustrated. To learn the general sentiments of the profession, it is only 
necessary to i-ecur to what may be every where fuund conceded in the 
contemporary reports of other states. We have the authority of the 
late Justice Story, given at a time when he e.xpected to have him as an 
associate on the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States, for 
asserting that "Walwcn-th is the greatest equity jurist now living;" and 
his own illustrious predecessor, Chancellor Kent, did not hesitate to 
bear the most ample testimony to the meiits of his decisions, declaring 
that he had referred to them in his Commentaries, wherever he could 
make them apply, and adding in reference to them, " 1 am proud of my 
own native state. ' 

Although Chancellor Walworth owed nothing to colleges in early 
life, the most celebrated universities of the country have vied with one 
another in according to him their highest distinctions. In 1835 the 
degree of LL.D., was conferred on him by the college of New- Jersey, 
at Princeton ; and the same honors have been since bestowed on him by 
Yale College at New-Haven, and by Harvard University at Cambridge. 

In all associations for ameliorating the moral condition of mankind, 
Chancellor Walworth has been a prominent and efficient actor; but by 
no trait is he more distinguished than by the extent of his benefactions, 
and which, considering his limited means, may be deemed truly muni- 
ficent. Though to the religious denomination with which he is con- 
nected, his contributions have been most ample, amounting in one case 
to $2,000, his charities have been limited by no sectarian standard. 
After the ravages of the yellow fever in New-York, in 1819, Mr. Wal- 
worth, then a young lawyer at Plattsburgh, sent unsolicited a draft for 
8100 fur the suffering poor, accompanied by a letter to the mayor, the 
Hon. Cadwallader D. Colden, which was published at the time to induce 
others to do likewise, and from which we learn the fact of the donation. 

Chancellor Walworth was among the Ibremost to stimulate his coun- 
trymen to afford efficient relief to the people of Ireland, when suffering 
from the famine of 1847. He acted as one of the vice-presidents, and 
addressed the meeting at Albany on the 12th of February, 18i7, at 
which the governor of the state presided. Before leaving that city he 
sent to the committee a donation of $200, accompanied by a letter in- 
dicating the most advantageous mode of its application, and on his re- 
turn home, he presided at another meeting, convened at Saratoga 
Springs, for the same object. He shortly afterwards made another 



REUBEN ir. WALWORTH, OF NEW-YORK. 141 

romittr.nce, for the suffering people of Scotland, to the president of the 
St. Andrew's Soeiety of New- York, and which was publicly acknowl- 
edged at the time. 

He was one of the earliest friends of the temperance cause; and at 
the organization of the State Society in 1829, he was its first presiding 
officer ; to which situation he was annually elected until his appoint- 
ment as president of the American Temperance Union, in 1843, upon 
the resignation of General Cocke, of Virginia. For many years he has 
been one of the corporate members of the American Board of Commis- 
sioners for Foreign Missions ; and is one of the most active and influ- 
ential lay members of that board. Since he left the bench, he has been 
elected to the situation of one of the vice-presidents of the national 
Tract Society. He is also a vice-president of the American Bible 
Society ; and a corresponding member of the British and Foreign Tem- 
perance Society. More than thirty years since, he made a profession 
of religion, and united with the Presbyterian Church, and is now one of 
its elders. 

Though Chancellor Walworth did not deem it consistent with the 
character of his judicial station to enter into the arena of active politics, 
he was not, during the twenty-five years that he occupied a seat on the 
bench, insensible to the interests either of his party or of his country. 
When, in 1832, a collision arose between the Supreme Court of the 
United States and the State of Georgia, growing out of the Indian 
titles in that state, and which led to the imprisonment of certain mis- 
sionaries. Chancellor Walworth, who, as a member of Congress, had 
fully investigated the subject, and come to the conclusion in fivor of 
the claim of Georgia to the prompt extinguishment by the national 
government of the Indian titles within her limits, successfully inter- 
posed, as a private individual, with Governor Lumpkin, and obtained 
the liberation of the missionaries ; thus terminating what might other- 
wise have resulted in a most unhappy controversy between the powers 
of a sovereign state and the highest judicial authority of the Union. 
In the performance of this patriotic duty, he acted in concert with the 
Rev, Dr. Nott, of Union College, and Benjamin F. Butler, Esq., 
who was afterwards the attorney-general of the United States ; to 
whom their co ntry is deeply indebted for their exertions on that 
occasion. 

When the Canadian outbreak took place, in 1837, some of the most 
influential men of both provinces were driven from their homes by the 
tyranny of those who then held rule there. The chancellor, although 
he advised against a hopeless contest which, he was aware, would only 
end in the ruin of the oppressed colonists, deeply sympathized with the 
unfortunate e.xiles, furnished funds for their relief, and took into his own 
family the son of the amiable and excellent Papineau,the former speaker 
of the parliament of Lower Canada, while he gave CTery aid and encour- 
agement in his power to the learned and estimable Bid well, the former 
speaker of the parliament of the Upper Province, who is now a respect- 
ed member of the New- York bar. 

On the death, in 1844, of Judge Thompson, of the Supreme Court of 
the United States, public opinion pointed to Chancellor Walworth as 
his successor. His name was presented to the President (John Tyler) 



142 sketc::es of eminent Americans. 

by a majority of the New- York delegation in Congress, and he was also 
recommended for the office by many of the leading members of the bar 
of the state of both political parties. Among others, Chief Justice 
Nelson, who afterwards received the appointment, wrote a strong letter 
to the President on the subject ; and after the rejection of Mr. Spencer 
by the Senate, the President sent in the name of Chancellor Walworth. 
The nomination was referred to the judiciary committee, who delayed 
making a report, and finally the appointment was laid upon the table or 
postponed until after the next presidential election, apparently by a 
mere party vote. Near the close of the next session of Congress, how- 
ever, it was ascertained that there had been a secret agreement between 
a whig member of the judiciary committee and one of the democratic 
senators from the west, that the nomination of Mr. Walworth should 
not be acted on during Mr. Tyler's presidential term. And, although 
every member of the New-York legislature and many of the leading 
members of the bar of both political parties, sent memorials to the 
Senate, urging a confirmation, the nomination was never bi ought before 
that body by thejudiciary committee, eitherforconfirmation or rejection. 
A few days before the expiration of his term of office, the President, 
being satisfied that the nomination would not be acted on duiing his 
continuance in office, reluctantly withdrew it, and sent in the name of 
the friend of Chancellor Walworth, Chief Justice Nelson. 

The Court of Chancery was abolished by the constitution of 1846 ; 
but the convention, which formed that constitution — for the purpose of 
enabling the chancellor to hear and decide the equity cases then pend- 
ing before him, and which were ready for argument — provided for the 
continuance of his office and his salary until the 1st of July, 1848. In 
April, 1847, the legislature, desirous of securing to the state the benefit 
of the legal learning of Chancellor Walworth for a longer period, 
placed him at the head of the commission organized under the provi- 
sions of the new constitution, to reduce into a written and systematic 
code the whole body of the statute and common law of the state ; and 
they subsequently extended the time for his taking the oath of office 
several months, for the purpose of inducing him to accept the appoint- 
ment after the new judiciary system of the state should have gone into 
operation. After considering the subject two days, the chancellor, in 
a letter to the legislature, which is full of instruction, respectfully de- 
clined the appointment. He put his declension of this important duty 
upon the ground, that the commission was not so organized as to give 
the commissioners sufficient time and means to frame such a code as 
would carry out the principle of the constitution on the subject, and be 
creditable to the commissioners and to the state, and not because he 
supposed such a codification of the laws to be impracticable. 

In his letter to the legislature, he says : " I am not one of those who 
believe it is wholly impracticable to carry out the provisions of the 
constitution on this subject. On the contrary, I think it not (>nly prac- 
ticable but highly expedient to collect the general principles of the 
unwritten commercial and other civil laws, and of <^ur equity system, 
as well as the criminal law of the state, now scattered through some 
thousands of volumes of treatises, commentaries, digests, and reports of 
judicial decisions, and to arrange them under appropriate heads, divi- 



REUBEN' H. WALWORTH, OF XEW-YCUK. 143 

sions and titles, in connection \vit.h the statute law on the same subjects. 
Such modifications of the law should also be suggested and incorporated 
into the code as are necessary to adapt the laws of the state to the 
present advanced condition of society, and to the principles of our free 
institutions." 

The same reasons which induced Chancellor Walworth to decline the 
appointment of commissioner of the code at that time, prevented hini 
from accepting the same office when it was tendered to him by Governor 
Fish two years afcerw^ards. And that he was right in supposing the 
commission was not properly organized for a creditable codification of 
the laws of the state, is evident from the fact that it proved an entire 
failure, and was ultimately abandoned. 

Chancellor Walworth held his last regular term for the hearing of 
causes in May, 1848. At a meeting of the members of the bar of the 
state, attending the general term of the Supreme Court, a few days 
afterwards, at which meeting the attorney-general presided, the follow- 
ing resolution was unanimously adopted, which shows the estimate 
placed upon the judicial services of the late chancellor by those v,ho had 
been in the habit of attending his court: 

" Resolved — That we decn\ the close of our former judiciary system 
a fitting occasion for the expression of our respect and regard for the 
eminent jurist, who, for so many years past, has discharged the labori- 
ous and responsible duties of chancellor of this state, and whose last 
term for hearing arguments has recently ended ; that the published 
volumes of his decisions evince a degree of acuteness and discrimina- 
tion, love of truth, sound morality, and thorough legal research, unsur- 
passed by any others, and honorable alike to himself and to the juris- 
prudence of our state." 

At the close of his judicial labors on the 1st of July thereafter, of the 
numei'ous causes and motions which had been argued before him, or 
submitted by counsel for his decision, he left but eight undecided. 

Since he left the bench he has not returned to the practice of his pro- 
fession at the bar, but confined himself to the business of chamber 
counsel, and to the investigation of legal questions submitted to him, or 
for his examination or decision, by the parties interested in such ques- 
tions. In that branch of professional labor his legal talents and attain- 
ments have been put in requisition by clients from nearly every part 
of the United States. 

In reference to the correctness of his adjudications while at the head 
of the most important equity court in the Union, and the character of 
Chancellor Walworth as a judge, we may say with the late Dane 
Professor of Law in Harvard University, that "never, perhaps, were so 
many decisions made where so few were inaccurate as to facts, or erro- 
neous in law. If it was destined that the Court of Chancery should fiill 
under a reform which apparently designs to oblitei-ate the history as 
well as the legal systems of the past, it is a consolation to reflect that it 
foil without imputation on its purity or usefulness, and that no court 
was ever under the guidance of a judge purer in character or more 
gifted in talent than the last Chancellor of New-York.'' 





^^^^^^^ ^^^^^.^e^ 




.5.;? '•.?,,. B»,^^^apT^^ sk.t.J^ ^flhrJn^^m 



JOHN W. EDMONDS, 

JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW- YORK. 

The father of this distinguished jurist was born in the city of New- 
York, at what is now the corner of William and Liberty streets, on 
the 27th of August, 17G0. When the war of the Revolution broke 
out, he was a student at college, in Rhode Island. He, however, im- 
mediately left his studies, and enlisted in the army as a private soldier. 
In various capacities he served during the whole war, having risen from 
the ranks to an ensigncy, and, finally, to an assistant commissary. He 
was at the battles of Monmouth, Yorktown, etc. On the establishment 
of peace, at the age of twenty-three, he started to seek his fortune, hav- 
ing nothing but a horse, saddle, bridle, two blankets, and a little conti- 
nental money. In 1784, during his wanderings, he arrived at the site 
of what is now the city of Hudson, then called Claverack Landing. 
There, as one of the few settlers, he opened a small store, in which busi- 
ness he was found by the emigrants from Nantucket and Martha's Vine- 
yard, who purchased the land, and laid the foundation of the city. He 
was at one time a member of the assembly, and high sheriff of the 
county ; and he continued in trade until the war of 1812, when he again 
entered the service of his country. He was soon appointed paymaster- 
general of the militia, in which office he continued for several years 
after the termination of the war. 

He died at Hudson, in 1826, and within a few years a beautiful 
monument has arisen in its graveyard, erected to his memory by his 
sons. His wife, the mother of the judge, was Lydia Worth, daughter 
of Thomas Worth, one of the first settlers of Hudson. She was a de- 
scendant of William Worth, who emigrated from Devonshire, England, 
in 1640, and settled in Nantucket. From this common stock have de- 
scended Major-General Worth, of the United States Army ; G. A. 
Worth, Esq., president of the New- York City Bank; and the Olcott 
and Edmonds families. 

After the death of Gen. Edmonds, his widow resided chiefly with her 
son, the judge, until she died, on the 20th of November, 1841. She 
was a member of the Society of Friends, and instilled into her children 
many of the tenets of that respected sect, which have evidently in- 
fluenced their conduct through life. 

Judge Edmonds was born in the city of Hudson, on the 13th of 
March, 1799. His early education was at private schools, and at the 
academy at Hudson, where he prepared for college. In October, 1814, 
he entered the sophomore class of Williams College, Massachusetts, in 
company with John Birdsall, afterwards circuit judge of the eighth cir- 
cuit, and attorney-general of Texas. In 1815, he solicited his dismis- 
sal from the college, and entered Union College, at Schenectady, where 
he graduated in July, 1816. His share in the exercises of the com- 
mencement was the Fall of Poland. On leaving college, he began the 
study of the law, at Cooperstown. with George Monell, Esq., afterwards 



14:0 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

chief justice of Micliigaii. After remaining at that place about six 
months, he returned to Hudson, where he studied two years, in the 
office of Monell & Van Buren. 

In the fall of 1819, he entered the office of Martin Van Buren, in 
Albany. Pie continued with the ex-president, residing in his family, 
until May, 1820, when he returned to Hudson, and entered upon the 
practice of the law. He continued at Hudson until his removal to 
New-York, in November, 1837. 

Inheriting the military disposition of his father, we find the judge, at 
the age of nineteen, a lieutenant in the militia, which commission he 
held for about fifteen years, when he obtained the command of hisregi- 
ment. This office he resigned in 1828, on being appointed, by De 
Witt Clinton, recorder of Hudson. To this day, throughout the old 
county of Columbia, the judge is addressed as colonel, military honors 
appearing invariably to take precedence of all others. 

At an early age, he took an active part in politics, ranking himself 
as a democrat ; and the first vote he ever gave was for Daniel D. 
Tompkins, when he ran for governor against De Witt Clinton. 

In 1830, the judge was elected by the democrats of Columbia to the 
Assembly, "in which body he soon became a leading and influential 
member. 

In the fall of 1831, he was elected to the State Senate, receiving, in 
his district, an unprecedented majority of over 7,500 votes. 

In the legislature, he was remarked for the industry and energy 
which have been displayed since — insomuch that, in a " portrait," 
drawn of him by a political opponent, during the first year of his ser- 
vice in that body, it was said of him : " His legal acquirements are 
good, and, from the industry which he exhibits in the business of legis- 
lation, it may be safely judged, that when more advanced in years, he 
will be eminent in his profession. He speaks with fluency and cor- 
rectness, and there is a clearness in his language and a candor in his 
statements, which cause him to be listened to with attention." "He 
was formerly the editor of a newspaper in Hudson, and a violent and 
determined politician. But, from his present course, it would be sup- 
posed he had tempered his strong feelings, and as the hey-dey of his 
youth passes away, his judgment will, no doubt, prevail entirely over 
his feelings. If this should be the case, and he do not lose his praise- 
worthy industry, he must hereafter stand high among our distinguished 
men." 

The newspaper in which this sketch appeared has long since ceased to 
exist — its editor has been dead some time; twenty years have elapsed 
since it was written, and the prophecy has been fulfilled. 

So great was this industry during that session, it has been com- 
puted that the reports written by him would fill a printed volume of 
600 octavo pages. The principal portion of this labor was bestowed 
in the appropriate duties of his position as chairman of the committee 
on canals. Yet he found time to devote to other topics. He was one 
of the select committee who reported in favor of abolishing imprison- 
ment for debt. He voted against the bill on that subject which finally 
passed the legislature, which he condemned as too complicated and arti- 
ficial, and as calculated to preserve imprisonment, in cases of debt, too 



JOHN "SV. EDMONDS, OF NEW-YORK. 147 

much ; and he advocated a system substantially the same as that 
which now prevails in this state under the Code of Procedure. In 
the mean time, and after twenty years' experience, the law which he op- 
posed, though not repealed in terms, has fallen into disuse, and given 
place to a more simple and more just system. 

There was, however, no part of his career in the assembly which 
attracted so much the attention of the public as his course in regard 
to the Bank of the United States. General Jackson had not then com- 
menced his war on that institution, which resulted, finally, in its over- 
throw, and agitated the nation in all its parts. Colonel Benton had, in- 
deed, in the United States Senate, made an assault upon the bank ; but 
thei-e were very many in the then dominant party who considered that 
assault as very great heresy. It was under these circumstances, with a 
very decided democratic majority in the assembly of at least five to 
one, and when a motion to postpone the whole subject indefinitely had 
been defeated by barely a tie vote, that Judge E. threw himself into the 
front rank of the battle, and with characteristic energy carried it to a 
successful issue. 

The ensuing year he was elected to the Senate of the state, and in 
that body, though a new member, was placed at the head of the canal 
committee, and on the judiciary committee. In the former position 
he remained only one year, being then transferred to the head of 
the bank committee, where he remained until the end of his term, and 
served on the judiciary committee the whole of his senatorial term, 
which was then four years. In the Senate the same industry and deter- 
mination of character was displayed. 

It was shortly prior to the monetary revolution of 1837, and the 
whole population seemed to be mad in its race for banks and canals. 
Projects for building canals, involving a public debt of many millions 
of dollars, and applications for one or two hundred new banks at a 
time, and a consequent ruinous inflation of the paper currency of the 
state, were some of the measures on which he took a decided stand ; 
and it was often remarked that he was never defeated in any position 
he took on those subjects. The number of new banks that were cre- 
ated was very limited — not more than five or six at each of the three 
first years of his terra, and none whatever in the last year. And in 
that year he introduced, matured, and successfully carried, a measure 
for infusing a greater amount of coin into common circulation. This 
was effected by the law prohibiting the issuing of bank-notes under the 
denomination of five dollars. The measure was violently resisted by 
the banks throughout the state; and when the suspension of specie 
payments occurred in 1837, they had influence enough with the legis- 
lature, aided by the distresses of the people, arising from other causes, 
to procure its repeal. Yet, even here the judge's sagacity was dis- 
played. His plan was to have the measure go into operation very 
slowly, and not fully, short of a period of six years. But, against his 
wishes, the legislature altered the time to eighteen months, and thus 
the law was made to operate with its greatest severity in the very 
midst of all the distress and embarrassment caused by the suspension 
of specie payments. There were not wanting men who were ready 
to take advantage of this state of things ; and thus a measure, which has 



148 SKETCHES OP EMINENT AMERICANS. 

prevailed in England with great benefits for fifty years, has been denied 
to our people. 

Another measure connected with the monetary affairs of the state 
occurred about the same time. The war between Gen. Jackson and 
his party on the one side, and the United States Bank and the oppo- 
nents of the administration on the other, was raging at this time with 
great vehemence. It was believed by many of the leading politicians, 
and among them Judge E., that the bank was assaulting the business 
and prosperity of the state, in order to drive it from its position of 
hostility to it — a position which had gone a great way in sustaining 
Gen. Jackson in his policy on this subject. To arrest it, he introduced 
into the legislature a project for interposing the credit of the state, to 
sustain its interest in the contest. 

Some of the most eminent capitalists of the city of New- York visited 
the legislature, and proposed the creation of a mammoth local bank as 
an antagonist to the United States Bank. This was opposed and de- 
feated by Judge E. and his associates, and instead of it he proposed to 
borrow $6,000,000 on the credit of the state, and loan $2,000,000 to 
the state banks, and the residue to the farming interests, through local 
loan officers. 

A report, recommending that measure, and a bill to carry it into 
effect, drawn by him, w^ere introduced into the assembly, and such a 
law was passed. 

It was always said by Mr. E., amoi^g the friends of the measure, that 
it would never be necessary to execute the law, and that its mere pas- 
sage would have the effect to put an end to the war on the monetary 
affairs of the state. This anticipation was fully and very speedily re- 
alized, and the law never went into effect. It was the subject, however, 
of very violent attacks from political opponents, and was defended by 
him, in the course of the ensuing summer, in a speech, characterized by 
great simplicity, directness, and research, and which was very widely 
circulated and read. 

There was another topic of general interest which arose during the 
judge's legislative career, and on which, characteristically, he took a 
decided stand. That was nullification and secession, growing out of 
South Carolina's opposition to the tariff laws. This state was very 
resolute in standing by Gen. Jackson on that occasion, and a report, 
said to have been from the pen of Mr. Van Buren, then vice-president 
elect, was introduced into the Senate, sustaining the policy of the ad- 
ministration, and denouncing the doctrines of nullification and secession as 
destructive of the Union. This report, when it came up for consideration, 
was very vehemently assailed by five or six of the strongest men in the 
senate, and was defended by Mr. E. alone. The contest lasted nearly 
a week, resulted in the triumphant adoption of the report, and placed 
New- York on high ground, on the side of the Union and its integrity. 

In the last year of his term Mr. E. was unanimously elected president 
of the senate; and then, at the close of his term, his health being very 
much impaired, he retired from the senate, declining a re-election, which 
was tendered him, in a district where his party were greatly predominant. 

The most of the ensuing two years he spent in traveling, to recruit his 
health. He accepted a comnaission, from General Jackson, to visit the 



JOHN W. EDMONDS, OF NEW-YORK. I49 

Indian tribes on the borders of Lakes TTiiron and Superior, and was at 
one time in tlie interesting position of being encamped with over six 
thousand of the natives of the forest. His letters to his family, written 
during this sojourn, and which we have read, are very graphic and in- 
teresting, and give a very vivid picture of that Indian life which is so 
rapidly passing away from among us. 

In the tall of 1837, he resigned his station, and removed from Hudson 
to New- York, where he resumed the practice of law. He almost imme- 
diately found himself in an extensive and profitable business, among the 
merchant princes of the commercial emporium. 

In April, 1843, without any solicitation on his part, the judge was ap- 
pointed, by Gov. Bouck, an inspector of the state prison at Sing Sing. 
It was with much hesitation that he accepted this unthankful task. The 
labor was indeed herculean. Scarcely any discipline was maintained in 
the prison, and the female prisoners had the entire control of the officers, 
hundreds of the males were entirely idle, and the earnings fell short of 
the expenses by over $40,000. But within eighteen months a great 
change was effected, and the female portion of the prison was brought 
into complete subjection; strict discipline was introduced and maintain- 
ed among the males, and the annual deficiency in the revenue was re- 
duced to less than a tenth part of the formei'sum. 

This task, however, was easy in comparison with a reform of a differ- 
ent character, which he sought to introduce. He found that, for more 
than fifteen years, the system of government which had prevailed in our 
state prisons, was one purely of force ; and where no sentiment was 
sought to be awakened in the breast of the prisoner but that of fear, and 
no duty exacted from him but that of implicit obedience. No instru- 
ment of punishment was used but the whip, which had the effect of 
arousing only the worst passions of both convicts and officers — a practice 
of abominable cruelty, long engrafted upon our penitentiary system — re- 
volting to humanity, and destructive to all hope of reforming the pri- 
soner. So thoroughly had it become engrafted, that the most experienced 
officers insisted that there was no other mode by which order could be 
kept. Besides, they found it was then so very easy to govern in that way. 

Passion, prejudice and selfishness, all combined to place obstacles in 
the way of this proposed reform, and its progress was very slow. Yet 
it steadily advanced, and when, in 1845, the judge resigned the office of 
inspector, his system was in the full tide of experiment. It has been 
continued by his successors to the present time. It has also been 
introduced into the state prisons of Auburn and Clinton, and is now the 
governing principle in all our state penitentiaries. With a view of 
carrying out this plan, in December, 1844, he instituted a " Prison 
Discipline Society," the object of which is the reform of prison gover* 
ment, and the aiding of prisoners, on their discharge, to lead honest 
lives. This society is in very successful operation, and enjoys a large 
share of public confidence. How great an amount of good can be ac- 
complished by a single philanthropic individual ! and for this one move- 
ment of the judge, how many poor wretches will rise up and call him 
blessed ! For this the tear of gratitude shall fall upon his grave, while 
angels proclaim, that " he who turneth one sinner from the error of his 
way, shall shine as the stars forever." " Man dies but not one of his 

51 



150 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

acts ever dies. Each, perpetuated and prolonged by interminable re- 
sults, affects some beings in every age to come." 

On the 18th of February, 1845, Mr. Edmonds received the appoint 
ment of circuit judge of the first circuit, in the place of Judge Kent, who 
had resigned. That office he held until June, 1847, when he was elect- 
ed a judge of the Supreme Court. 

In the discharge of his duties as circuit judge, he was always fearless 
and independent, reminding us of the famous Matthew Hale. A most 
extraordinary instance of this was exhibited at the anti-rent trials in 
Columbia county, in September, 1845. The counsel employed in those 
trials, had been engaged in the same cases at the circuit in March pre- 
ceding, and had then manifested no little combativencss. They dis- 
played the same warmth before Judge Edmonds, and carried it so far 
as to come to blows in open court. The offenders were gentlenien of 
high standing, and personal friends of the judge, and both at once 
apologized for their contempt of court. But the judge, with great 
promptness, committed them both to prison, and adjourned his court, 
with the remark, that it was not his fault that the course of public 
justice was thus interrupted. Perhaps none regretted this momentary 
outbreak more than the parties themselves, whose manners in private 
life are courteous in the extreme. 

This event attracted a great deal of attention throughout the Union, 
and was noticed by European papers as "evidence of advancing civili- 
zation in America." The most gratifying feature of the case was, that 
it did not disturb the personal good feeling which had previously exist- 
ed between the parties engaged in it. 

Upon the organizationof the judiciary, under the new state constitu- 
tion, Judge Edmonds was nominated for justice of the Supreme Court 
by the bar of New York, and by the Tammany party, and was elected 
by an overwhelming majority. This result cannot but be gratifying, 
not only to him, but to the public, inasmuch as during his judgeship he 
had made several decisions that warred upon popular prejudice ; and 
immediately before his election he had, with others of the democratic 
party, protested against the admission of Texas into the Union, as emi- 
nently calculated to lead to a war with Mexico, and to perpetuate the 
extension of slavery. Subsequent events have justified the sagacity 
which marked that act, while the act itself has subjected the gentlemen 
engaged in it to much obloquy and censure from their political asso- 
ciates. This proceeding was, however, rebuked in his triumphant elec- 
tion by the public, who honored him for his independence of character. 

The complaint which was made of the celebrated author of the His- 
tory of the Common Law, that he did not decide with sufficient quick- 
ness, cannot be uttered against Judge E. With him there is no delay, 
no hesitation ; indeed, it is remarked by all. that he transacts a greater 
amount of business, in a given time, than any jurist who has ever been 
upon the bench in the city of New-York. But though his decisions are 
delivered with the greatest promptness, they are masterly specimens, 
exhibiting all the elegance and perspicuity of the most elaborated legal 
judgments. 

With the younger members of the bar, Judge E. is an especial favor- 
ite. He alwavs receives them with words of kindness and encourage- 



JOIIX W. EDMONDS, OF NEW-rORK. 151 

ment, and hears them with patience. By the rising generation of law- 
yers — those who must, in a score of years hence, be the masters of the 
field now occupied by their seniors — he will be long and aflectioi lately 
remembered, and by some of their number, who will wield abler pens 
than ours, proper tributes will be paid to his superior virtues and abili- 
ties. What was said of Sir Matthew Hale is no less true of the jubge : 
" His conversation is affable and entertaining ; his eloquence easy and 
persuasive ; his temper warm, open, and generous ; he is affectionate 
to his family and sincere to his friends." 

The judge has one brother, Francis W., cashier of the Mechanics' 
Bank in New-York, and distinguished as an artist. He has also three 
sisters, two of whom reside in the State of New-York, and the third, 
the wife of Col. Webb, of the United States Army, is living in Illinois. 

The family of the judge consists of three daughters, two of whom are 
married. 




I:ng^^j B. S Saia 



MOI^o JTACOB JtSenLNJETp ILIL.D, 



^^^ '^for Sw^raphicaJy Sketches of . Eminent jiTytericans 



HON. JACOB BURNET, LL. D., 

OF OHIO. 

Judge Burnet is the son of Doctor William Burnet, the elder, ot 
Newark, New-Jersey, who was a member of the second class that tjradu- 
ated at the College of New-Jersey, in 1749, before the institnlion was 
removed to Princeton ; and who was elected a member of Congress 
under the Confederation, in the fall of 1776, and in the winter follow- 
ing was appointed physician and surgeon-general for the eastern dis- 
trict of the United States, which appointment he held till the close ot 
the war. Doctor Ichabod Burnet, grandfather of the judge, was born 
in Scothtnd, in the vicinity of Edinburgh, and was educated at the 
university in that city. Soon after he completed his collegiate and 
professional studies, he married, and emigrated to Elizabethtown, in 
the province of New-Jersey, where he lived to a very advanced age, 
in the practice of his profession as a physician and surgeon. 

The subject of this sketch was born on the 22d February, 1770. In 
1791 he graduated at Princeton college, during the presidency of the 
venerable J3octor Witherspoon. He studied law in the office of Judge 
Boudinot, of New-Jersey, and was licensed to practise his profession, 
by the Supreme Court of that state, at the May term of 179G. Im- 
mediately after his admission to the bar, he removed to Cincinnati, 
which has been the place of his residence ever since. On his arrival 
at the place selected as the field of his subsequent labors, he found it 
a small vil age of log cabins, with a few frame houses made principally 
of the timl)er and plank of the Kentucky boats on which they had 
floated to the place of their destination. It contained a population ot 
from f Mir to five hundred, of all ages, exclusive of the troops at Fort 
Washington, then commanded by Captain Harrison, afterwards 
President of the United States, and the attaches of the armv, amount- 
ing to about an equal number. 

The court being in session when Mr. Burnet arrived, he was immedi- 
ately admitted to the bar, and before the close of the term, was re- 
tained in a large portion of the cases then on the docket. The popula- 
tion of the town, though small, contained an unusually large proportion 
of respectable, intelligent fiimilies, and single individuals, sutTiciently 
numerous to form a very pleasant, interesting society. Notwithstand- 
ing the isolated situation of the place, being several hundred miles 
within an unsettled wilderness, which rendered it difficult to procure 
the necessaries, and much more so the conveniences and luxuries of 
life, yet the hospitality of the inhabitants was general, and limited only 
by their means of indulging it. 

In 1795, the year in which the Indian war was terminatsd, by the 
treaty of Greenville, the governor and judges of the Genaral Court 
undertook to ascertain, as correctly as possilDle, the number of white 
inhabitants in the entire territory, extending from Pennsylvania to the 
Mississippi River, and from the Ohio to the lakes; and reported it to 
be about fifteen thousand, not including Detroit and the settlement in 
its vicinity, which were then in the possession of Great Britain, 



15-i SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS, 

At that time the only judicial courts organized in the territory were 
at Marietta, Cincinnati, Vincennes, and Kaskaskia. In the succeeding 
year, and about the time Mr. Burnet arrived at Cincinnati, Detroit, 
Mackinaw, and Fort Simco,atthe foot of tlie rapids of the Maumee River, 
with the settlements in their vicinity, were surrendered under the pro- 
visions of Jay's treaty to General Wayne, who had been appointed 
by President Washington to receive the same. Immediately there- 
after Governor St. Clair erected the territory, thus surrendered, into a 
county, and gave it the name of Wayne county, in honor of the veter- 
an soldier whose victory over the savages in 1794 had hastened the 
measure. Courts of justice were immediately after established at 
Detroit, which commenced their sessions in the succeeding year. At 
that early period the territory was without roads, bridges, or other 
flicilities for traveling, and the county seats were some hundred miles 
apart, separated frorn each other by an uncultivated wilderness, yet the 
subject of this memoir attended every term of the general court at 
Cincinnati, Marietta, and Detroit, from his first arrival in the territory 
till the establishment of the state government. Asa matter of course, 
he and those who traveled with him carried their provisions, slept on 
the ground, and swam on their horses all the water courses that were 
too deep to be forded. During his continuance in practice he was 
devoted to the duties of his profession, and was justly ranked among 
the most distinguished members of the bar. 

In 1799 it was ascertained that the territory contained five thousand 
free white male inhabitants, and consequently was entitled by the or- 
dinance of 1787 to enter on the second grade of territorial government, 
and to have a General Assembly consisting of a legislative council ap- 
pointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
and a House of Representatives chosen by the people, in which body 
the legislative power of the territory was vested, subject to the un- 
qualified veto of the governor. 

Mr. Burnet was nominated to the Senate, and with their advice and 
consent appointed, by President Adams, one of the legislative council, 
and continued a member of that body till the territorial government 
was abolished, and a state government established, in the winter of 
1802-3. 

It appears from the territorial journal, that Mr. B. was a very 
active, laborious member of that legislature, and that a large part of 
the business transacted by the council was prepared and reported by 
him. 

From the first settlement of the northwestern territory the Com- 
monwealth of Kentucky claimed exclusive jurisdiction on the Ohio 
River, which had been reluctantly submitted to by the people of the 
territory, and from which very serious difliculties and embarrassments 
had resulted. 

Persons arrested by territorial officers for crimes committed on 
board of boats lying at, or floating near the shore of the territory, 
were released on habeas corpus, or discharged on pleas to the juris- 
diction of the territorial courts. Those who set up this exclusive 
right claimed that it extended to high-water mark, and insisted that 
when the river, at a high stage, passed a portion of its waters through 



JACOB BURNET, OF OHIO. 155 

a bo.you, or over low ground into the main stream below, the ground 
so separated was an island within the meaning of the act of session, the 
jurisdiction and soil of which was vested in Kentuclvy. This condition 
of things was highly embarrassing, and frequently resulted in the 
escape of criminals from deserved punishment. 

The claim was considered extremely oppressive, and was loudly and 
justly complained of. Many persons of intelligence expressed the 
opinion that the cession of the entire country northwest of the river, 
including jurisdiction as well as soil, in connection with the flict, 
that the river had been declared a public highway, to be used freely as 
such by all the citizens of the United States, might be considered as 
giving the people of the territory the jurisdiction they claimed. 

Mr. Burnet, then a member of the legislature, with others, was dis- 
posed to maintain that opinion, and to assert it as the only remedy for 
the embarrassments experienced by their magistrates and courts of 
justice. 

Accordingly, in the early part of the session of 1799, on leave granted 
for that purpose, he introduced a bill in which the right of jurisdiction 
on the river was affirmed, and the service of process, civil and criminal, 
made on any river or water-course within or bounding the territory, 
was declared legal. 

That bill passed by a unanimous vote in each house, and was ap- 
proved by the governor, with the distinct understanding that it asserted 
the right of concurrent jurisdiction over the whole river. From that 
time, thi^ tribunals of the territory, and afterwards of the state, sus- 
tained the legality of arrests made on the Ohio River. Kentucky, 
however, continued to dispute the right, though no serious effort was 
made to resist it for a number of years ; but subsequently the opposi- 
tion on the part of that state was revived, and became so serious, that 
the legislature of Ohio passed a resolution requesting their governor to 
correspond on the subject with the governor of Kentucky. At a sub- 
sequent session the legislature were informed, that the governor of 
that state had declined holding any correspondence on the subject. 

When tliat result was communicated. Mr. B. was a member of the 
house, and, having had something to do with that matter in the territo- 
rial legislature, he determined to give it a thorough investigation Ac- 
cordingly, he examined the entire legislation of Virginia in regard to 
it. He found that the act passed in December, 1789, authorizing the 
district of Kentucky to form a separate government, was in the form of 
a compact, and set forth distinctly the terms and conditions on which, 
and on which alone, the district should be permitted to form a govern- 
ment for themselves. One of them declared in express terms, that the 
state to be formed in the district should never claim the exclusive 
jurisdiction on the Ohio River, but that it should be forever common 
to them, and to the people and states on the opposite side. 

These conditions were agreed to by the people of Kentucky, and a 
state constitution was formed in 1792, containing a clause that the 
compact with the State of Virginia should constitute a part tliereof. 
The result of that examination was communicated to the legislature, 
and produced a perfect conviction that the right for which they had 
been attempting to negotiate was secured to them, as far as Kentucky 



156 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

was concerned, by the prudence and foresight of the commonwealth of 
Virginia. Since that time there has not been any difficulty with the 
state or people of Kentucky. A similar embarrassment, however, may 
arise with the State of Virginia as to our right on the river above the 
mouth of Big Sandy. But, judging from what she had done to secure 
thcjurisdiction below that point, it is not presumed she will desire to 
restrict it above. 

During the war of 1812 he was elected a member of the stale as- 
sembly — was re-elected the succeeding year, and was solicited to be 
a candidate again, but declined, in consequence of its interference with 
his professional duties. 

During his membership he took an active part in supporting the va- 
rious propositions that were brought before the legislature to sustain 
the war, and, as far as the means within their control would permit, 
they were put in requisition to aid the government in the accomplish- 
ment of their plans to bring the contest to a successful close. 

In 1821 he was appointed by the governor of Ohio one of the su- 
preme judges of the state, and was subsequently elected by the legis- 
lature to the same office, in which he continued discharging the onerous 
and responsible duties it imposed till December, 1828, when he re- 
signed his seat on the bench, and was in a few days thereafter elected 
to the Senate of the United States, to fill the vacancy occasioned by 
the resignation of General Harrison, who had been appointed minister 
to the government at Bogota. Having previously made up his mind 
to retire from public business, which had induced him to Igave the 
bench, he at first declined the appointment, but, on the solicitation of 
friends, he yielded to their wishes, on condition that he should not be 
considered a candidate for re-election. 

Soon after his appointment to the bench of the Supreme Court, he 
was chosen by the legislature of the State of Kentucky one of the com- 
missioners to adjust the matters in controversy between that state and 
the commonwealth of Virginia, involving the oV)jections of the latter 
against the statute of limitations, and the occupying claimant law of 
the former, and involving also the validity of the location of a large 
amount of Virginia military land-warrants in the district of Green 
River; and in the fall of 1821, he proceeded to Washington City, in 
company witli the Hon. Henry Clay, who had been designated by the 
legislature to superintend the investigation on their part — the Hon. Ben- 
jamin Watkins Leigh having been appointed by Virginia to attend to 
the same duty on their behalf. It so happened, however, that the Vir- 
ginia commissioners failed to attend, by which the object of the arrange- 
ment which had been previously made by the two states was defeated. 
About the same time, Mr. Burnet was appointed a professor in the law- 
school connected with the Transylvania University, at Lexington ; but 
at that time the state of his health, and the pressure of official duty at 
home, prevented him from accepting the appointment. Soon after, 
that institution conferred on him. unsolicited, the honorary degree of 
LL. D. ; and at a subsequent period the same honorary degree was 
conferred on him by the trustees and faculty of his Alma Mater, at 
Princeton. 

Under the system established for the sale of the public domain by 



JACOB BURNET, OF OUIO. 157 

the law of 1800, and the acts supplementary thereto, an immense debt 
was contracted, and became due to the government of the United States 
from the people of the West, exceeding by estimate the entire amount 
of money then circulating in the western states. That debt had been 
accumulating more than twenty years, and was swelling daily with in- 
creasing rapidity. 

In 1821 it far exceeded the ability of the debtors to pay. Neither 
the speculator, who had purchased with a view of selling at a profit, 
nor the farmer, who bought for the purpose of cultivation and who ex- 
pected nothing more than to obtain a subsistence for his family, could 
procure the money which was necessary to secure his title. 

It is well known that the first emigrants to the West, and the greater 
part of those who followed them from time to time, were compelled, 
by necessity, to purchase on credit. Some of them exhausted their 
means to the last dollar in raising the first payment on their entries, 
and others were not able to make up that sum without the aid of their 
friends. 

Judge Burnet, who was one of the early adventurers to the West, 
was residing in the Miami country before and at the time the sales of 
the public lands commenced, and had a general knowledge of the situa- 
tion of the great mass of purchasers who were indebted to the govern- 
ment. It was his opinion, repeatedly expressed in conversation and in 
the newspapers of the day, that nine-tenths of those debtors would lose 
their lands and improvements under the laws then in force unless relief 
should be obtained from Congress. That opinion was founded on the 
general condition of the country. It was manifest that the pecuniary 
embarrassment which prevailed was great and universal — that the 
banks in the western states had all suspended payment — that credit 
was at an end — that money was not to be had, because it was not in 
the country, and, of course, that no property could be sold for cash on 
any terms. This appalling prospect spread a gloom on the countenance 
of the community. The people were sinking in despair; hope had de- 
serted them, and they were preparing to meet their fate with the best 
resolution they could command. 

The debt due to the government in 1820, at the different land offices 
in the western states, amounted to twenty-two millions of dollars, a 
sum which more than tripled the ability of the country to pay. There 
was, in fact, a crisis in its affairs; and the most buoyant spirits could 
not indulge a rational hope that the gathering storm could be scattered, 
or its ruinous consequences be repaired. 

Thousands of industrious men, some of whom had paid one, some 
two, and others three instalments, on their lands, and had toiled day 
and night in clearing, inclosing, and improving them, became convinced 
that they would le forfeited, and their money and labor lost. 

The amount of the debt, beyond the means of payment, was so 
great, as to threaten a general bankruptcy throughout the West. 

When this state of things became generally known and understood, 
politicians and patriots, in every part of the country, felt serious fears 
that an attempt to enforce payment, by a forfeiture of the land, under 
the laws of Congress, would produce resistance, and probably terminate 
in a civil war. 



158 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

It was very evident that more than half of the men northwest of the 
Ohio River were in debt to the government ; and it was a reasonable 
calculation, that all the residue felt a warm interest operating in their 
favor. 

A similar state of things, though not perhaps to the same extent, ex- 
isted in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Missouri. 

An interest so universal, and so exciting to the feelings, pervading 
such a vast extent of country, might well create forebodings of danger 
in the minds of reflecting men. 

Portions of this debt were due from individuals, who had purchased 
for the purpose of selling at an advance ; and although less sympathy 
. was felt for them than for the actual cultivators of the soil, yet, in 
point of fact, their claims were equally strong. But be that as it may, 
it was quite evident that if any attempt had been made to enforce the 
penalty of the land laws, the influence of that class would have been 
much the most operative in organizing and sustaining a plan of resist- 
ance. From that consideration the farmers had no disposition to sepa- 
rate from their fellow-sufferers, by presenting a claim on their own 
behalf, founded on the peculiarity of their situation. 

When the nation discovered the real condition of these debtors, a 
feeling of sympathy was produced in their behalf throughout the Union ; 
and at the same time many anxious fears were excited, as to the con 
sequences of an attempt to enforce payment. 

Judge Burnet — being one of the sufferers, and discovering a disposi- 
tion manifested everywhere to remove the difficulty — directed his 
anxious attention to the subject, with a view of devising a plan ot 
relief It was very manifest, without pausing to delibei-ate, that 
the debt could never be paid, and consequently that no plan, pre- 
dicated on an extension of time, would be of any avail, and that the 
only eflfectual method of removing the difficulty was to extinguish the 
claim at once. 

That object might be accomplished, it was believed, by obtaining 
permission to relinquish as much of the land entered as the purchaser 
could not pay for ; with the privilege of applying the money, which had 
been paid in on relinquished tracts, to the credit of such other tracts as 
might be retained, in such manner as to save the improvements of the 
actual settler. That privilege, and a release of back interest, it was 
believed, would fully accomplish the object. 

This view of the subject he stated to his tViends, Mr. G. A. Worth, 
cashier of the Branch Bank at Cincinnati, and Judge Burke, post- 
master at that place, both of whom cordially approved of the plan 
He then drew up the form of a memorial to Congress, setting forth the 
facts, and praying that a law might be passed granting relief to the 
memorialists, in the specific manner stated above, which was submitted 
to the persons beforenamed, and approved of 

More than a thousand copies of it were then neatly printed, on letter 
paper, by Messrs. Morgan and Lodge, who, being furnished with the 
materials, declined receiving any compensation for their labor. 

The memorials were accompanied by a circular letter, drawn by 
Judge Burnet, explanatory of the object, and were sent to every post- 
office in the states and territories in which public lands had been sold ; 



-til 



JACOB BURNET, OF OHIO. 159 

directed to influential men, who were earnestly requested to multiply 
copies, and send them to every village and neighborhood in the states 
and territories in which they resided. Among others, a copy was sent 
to Governor Worthington, of Ohio, who approved of the plan, and 
exerted his influence, which was very prevailing, to carry it to a suc- 
cessful termination. 

The sclieme met with universal approbation, and in a short time 
copies of the memorial were in circulation in every part of the Ohio 
and Mississippi valley. The consequence was, that, at the succeeding 
session of Congress, the tables of both houses were literally loaded 
with these memorials, signed by thousands of the inhabitants of all 
parts of the western and southwestern country ; and, with here and 
there an exception, they were in the precise form drawn by Judge 
Burnet, and printed at Cincinnati. 

The subject was taken up in Congress with great earnestness, and 
the act of 1831 was passed, granting relief in the form requested in the 
memorial. 

In the discussion of the subject, it was evident that the leading mem- 
bers were induced to support the measure, from an apprehension of 
the consequences to which the continuance of the debt would lead ; and 
from a conviction that it was necessary to change the land system, so 
as to require all sales thereafter to be made in cash. Under the in- 
fluence of those considerations, the Hon. Rufus King, of New-York, 
discussed the subject in the Senate with great talent and energy. He 
advocated the plan, because it united the double object of extinguishing 
the existing debt, and of preventing the accumulation of another. 

To reconcile the community to this important alteration in the land 
system, Mr. King proposed to reduce the price of the public land from 
two dollars to one dollar and twenty-five cents ; and to sub-divide the 
surveys into tracts of eighty acres, so as to put it in the power of every 
citizen, who was not a confirmed loafer, to become au independent 
freeholder. 

With these modifications, the plan proposed in the memorial was 
adopted, with a degree of unanimity almost unparalleled. 

By the success of that project, performed and put in operation by 
Mr. Burnet, he had the satisfiiction of seeing the entire West relieved 
from a state of depression, which, had it been continued, must have 
produced results too distressing to be contemplated. 

In practice, the plan adopted was effective. It relieved the nation 
from apprehensions, and the people of the West from embarrassment, 
and it strengthened their confidence in the benignity of the general go- 
vernment, while it removed a cause of disquietude and distress which 
threatened the peace of the country. 

In 1828 Congress granted to the State of Ohio, for the purpose of 
aiding in the construction of the Miami canal, from Dayton to the lake, 
by the Maumee route, a quantity of land equal to one-half of five sec- 
tions in width, on each side of the canal, from Dayton to the mouth of 
the Auglaize River, on the express condition that the work should be 
commenced in five years, and completed in twenty years, or the state 
should be bound to pay the United States the price of the lands. 



] 60 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS, 

The state was also required to pass a law expressly accepting the 
condition ; without which, the grant should be inoperative. 

The legislature were fearful of the embarrassment that might result, 
and refused to pass the law required, by which the law became inope 
rative, and the grant was lost. 

Thus the matter stood in 1830. Judge Buinetbeing then a member 
of the Senate of the United States, and feeling a deep interest in the 
completion of that work, determined to make an effort to obtain the 
passage of a-law for the purpose of reviving the former law, removing 
the penalty it imposed, and obtaining an additional grant, without 
which it was evident the extension of the Miami canal would be aban- 
doned. 

He mentioned the subject to his colleague. Judge Ruggles, and to 
most of the Ohio members of the house. They gave it as their opinion 
that the attempt would be a failure, particularly that part of it which 
proposed an additional grant ; but all expressed their readiness to aid 
in supporting the measure. 

For the purpose of bringing the subject before the Senate, he offered 
a resolution, instructing the committee on public lands to investigate 
the subject, and I'eport to the Senate. At the request of the commit- 
tee, Mr, Burnet appeared before them, explained the object of the reso- 
lution, and stated in detail the claims of his state on the government, 
and the grounds on which they relied for relief and assistance. 

The result was, that they reported a bill reviving the former grant ; 
revoking the forfeiture, and making an additional grant of about two 
hundred and fifty sections of land. That bill passed both houses dur- 
ing the session, and furnished the means by which the Miami extension 
canal was completed. 

Judge Burnet was for many years actively engaged in projecting and 
sustaining the various enterprises set on foot in Cincinnati, and in other 
parts of the state, for the purpose of advancing the health, intelligence, 
and general prosperity of the community, as will appear from the fol- 
lowing ficts: — that he took a leading part in establishing the Lancaste- 
ri<ui Academy of Cincinnati, at an early day, and in the subsequent es- 
tablishment of the Cincinnati College, of which he was the first presi- 
dent — that he had an agency in procuring the re-organization of the 
Medical College of Ohio, and was president of that institution a num- 
ber of years — that he was president of the Cincinnati Branch of the 
United States Bank, chartered duringr the administration of Mr. 
Madison — that he was the first president of the Colonization Society of 
Cincinnati, and devoted much time in promoting the great object of 
its founders — that he was a member of the Society for the Cultivation 
of Sacred Music, and was president of that association — that he was 
the first president of the Astronomical Society of Cincinnati, and ren- 
dered essential and material aid to the eflorts of Professor Mitchell, 
who is universally regarded as the father and founder of that noble in- 
stitution — that he was among the most liberal contributors to the 
Cincinnati Museum and the town library, both of which, however, 
proved to be failures. 

In 1847 he published a volume of five hundred octavo pages, enti- 



JACOB HrHNET, OF OHIO. 161 

tied " Notes on the Early Settlement of the Northwestern Territory," 
which is considered as containing much interesting information, parti- 
ciiUirly as to that part of the territory now constituting the State of 
Ohio ; the progress of which he has witnessed, from a district of about 
twelve thousand souls, to a state whose population may be estimated 
at two millions. 

On the application of General Lafeyette, the friend of Doctor Bur- 
net, the father, and the bosom friend of Major Burnet, the brother of 
the Judge, he was elected a member of the French Academy of Scien- 
ces, a compliment hitherto very sparingly bestowed on foreigners. 



II 







rapkical 



'apki 



AARON V. BROWN, 

LATE GOVERNOR OF TENNESSEE. 

Aaron V. Brown, liite Governor of Tennessee, was born on the K)iii 
of August, 1795, in the county of Brunswick, Virginia. His father, 
the Rev, Aaron Brown, enlisted, when not yet of lawful age, f t three 
years in the Revolutionary army. He was in the battle of Trenton, 
and participated in that ever-memorable march through the Jerseys, 
where the course of the American army was known to the enemy by 
the blood of its bare-footed soldiery. He was also one of the sufferers 
in the encampment, at Valley Forge, during the severe winter of 1777-8, 
where disease, and famine, and nakedness, so often drew tears from the 
illustrious Washington. At the close of his term of service, he returned 
to the county of Brunswick, where he continued to reside for nearly 
forty years in the midst of those who had witnessed his early and pa- 
triotic career, respected and beloved by all as a faithful and useful min- 
ister of the gospel, of the Methodist persuasion ; an upright civil 
magistrate, a staunch republican of the old Jefl'erson school, and an 
honest man. The subject of this memoir was the issue of his second 
marriage, with Elizabeth Melton, (corrupted from Milton,) of Northamp- 
ton county, in the State of North Carolina. 

Except in the simplest elements. Gov. Brown was educated in the 
last-mentioned state. He was sent when very young to Westrayville 
Academy, in the county of Nash, in order to be placed under the care 
of Mr. John Bobbitt, one of the best scholars and teachers of the time. 
After continuing here for two years, he was transferred, in the year 1812, 
to the University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill. He graduated in 
this institution, in 1814, in a large class, of which Senator Mangum and 
ex-Governor Manley, of North Carolina, were also members. The duty 
was assigned to him by the faculty, and confirmed by the trustees, of 
delivering the valedictory oration on commencement day, and the ser- 
vice was performed in a manner which produced the most striking im- 
pression on the large assembly then in attendance. The collegiate 
career of but few young men is inai'ked by incidents of sufficient im- 
portance to be recited in a notice like this. Industry in preparing for 
and punctuality in attending at the hour of recitation, as well as the 
most cheerful conformity to the rules of the institution, were the most 
striking characteristics of his educational course. 

Having finished his educational course, Gov. Brown returned to his 
parents, who, in the previous year, had removed to the county of Giles, 
in the State of Tennessee. About the beginning of the year 1815, he 
commenced the study of law in the office of the late Judge Trimble, 
in the town of Nashville. With this gentleman he continued to read 
for two years, and now often refers to him as one of the most systema- 
tic, aiilc and upright men he ever knew. Having obtained a license, he 
opened an office in Nashville, and commenced practice in that city 
with the most flattering prospects of success. About this time, how- 



164 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

ever, Alfred M. Harris, who was engaged in a very extensive practice 
in nearly all the southern counties of Middle Tennessee, accepted a 
place on the bench, and solicited Gov. Brown to remove to the county 
of Giles and close up his extensive business for him. The opportunity 
was inviting, and that being the residence of his now aged parents, he 
determined to settle in that county. Taking charge at once of an ex- 
tensive practice, both civil and criminal, including the land litigation, 
then an important and almost distinctive branch of the profession. Gov. 
Brown found all the resources of his mind brought into immediate re- 
quisition. No time was to be lost in idleness — none to be devoted to 
pleasure. We remember that one of his maxims about this period 
was, " Always to be first at court, and never to leave it until the ad- 
journing order was made." Under such habits it was no matter of sur- 
prise to those who observed them, that there were but few causes of 
importance in the counties in which he practised, in which he was not 
engaged. 

In a few years after Gov. Brown commenced his career in Giles, the 
late President Polk commenced his in Columbia, in the adjoining 
county of Maury. They soon formed a partnership in their profes- 
sion, thereby extending the field of their professional labors into more 
counties than they could have done without that arrangement. This 
partnership continued for several years, and until Mr. Polk engaged 
in his congressional career. Its dissolution brought no termination to 
that cordial friendship, personal and political, in which it had com- 
menced, and which continued unabated until the death of the late 
lamented president. Gov. Brown continued engaged in his profession 
until the year 1839, when, having been elected to Congress, he gave it 
up altogether. Much of the time in which he was in regular and full 
practice he was also a member of one branch or the other of the state 
legislature. This service being near home, and the counties he repre- 
sented being those in which he practised, produced no material impedi- 
ment to the progress of his professional business. But the case was 
different in the distant service in the Congress of the United States. 

Gov. Brown served as a senator, from the counties of Lincoln and 
Giles, at all the sessions of the legislature, regular and called, from 1821 
to 1827, inclusive, except the session of 1825, when he was not a candi- 
date. In the session of 1831 and 1832, he was the representative of 
the county of Giles in the other branch of the general assembly. His 
course was distinguished at all times, as a legislator for the state, for his 
determination to sustain an independent and able judiciary, and to build 
up an enlightened, liberal, and impartial system of jurisprudence in the 
state; and, we hazard nothing in saying, that, in searching through the 
statutes, one will find more laws of a general and permanent nature 
which emanated from him than from any one of the other public men 
of the state. He was longer in that service, and, by professional ex- 
perience, may be presumed to have understood the defects of existing 
laws, and how to remedy them. Throughout his service in the legis- 
lature he evinced a strong disposition to diminish the number of offences 
which should be capitally punished. He did not propose or wish to 
abolish such punishments altogether, but only to reduce and limit them 



AARON V. BROWN, OF TENNESSEE. ] 65 

down to the smallest possible number of cases, consistent with the 
necessary self-defence of society against the aggressions of the lawless 
and abandoned. At the session of 1831-32, by the order of the judici- 
ary committee, he prepared an elaborate and able report, which he 
submitted to the house, on the subject of capital punishments, which 
attracted great attention throughout the Union. 

Gov. Brown first became a candidate for Congress in 1839. At two 
former elections the whigs had carried his district by majorities rang- 
ing from eleven to twelve hundred votes. His competitor, the Hon. 
E. J. Shields, had served in the two preceding Congresses. He was a 
gentleman of fine talents, and one of the most plausible and handsome 
debaters of his party. When the election came off, however, Gov. 
Brown was found not only to have overcome the large party majority 
against him, but to have overcome it by the immense majority of six 
teen hundred and one votes. He was re-elected for the called session 
of Congress in 1841, without having any opposition. In 1843, the con- 
gressional district was altered so as greatly to diminish the democratic 
majority by which Gov. Brown had been usually elected in the old dis- 
trict. This induced hopes that he might possibly be beaten in the new 
one, and all the regular steps were taken to present a competitor in 
the person of the Hon. N. S. Brown, now minister to Russia. The 
result, however, demonstrated that the democracy of the new district, 
although not in so large a m.ajority as in the old one, was nevertheless 
equally invincible. 

During the period of his congressional service, beginning in 1839 
and ending in 1845, Gov. Brown seems to have been an active mem- 
ber, taking a part in nearly all the great questions which came up dur- 
ing that eventful portion of our political history. 

in May, 1840, he delivered a speech in reply to Mr. Bell, on the bill 
introduced by that gentleman, " to secure the freedom of elections." 
He also made a speech on the celebrated New-Jersey case, having been 
a member of the committee which reported on the same. His speech 
on the burning of the Caroline, to be found in the Congressional Globe 
and appendix of 1841, was listened to by the house with profound at- 
tention and emotion, and is regarded by his friends as one of his ablest 
efforts in Congress. He was a member of the committee which framed 
the tariff of 1842, and united with the minority in presenting an able 
and conclusive report against the principles and details of that measure. 
When the bill came up for discussion, Gov. Brown made a clear and 
powerful argument against it, opening the deijate on the democratic 
side of the house. On the 4th of August, 1841, he delivered a speech 
against the fiscal bank bill, which occupied so large a portion of pub- 
lic solicitude at that time. He made speeches in 1844 on the remis- 
sion of the fine imposed on Gen. Jackson at New-Orleans, and against 
receiving and reporting on abolition petitions; also, on the right of 
members elected by general ticket to their seats. 

It was in December, 1844, that Gov. Brown foimd it necessary to 
reply to sundry speeches of Mr. Adams, made in Massachusetts, in re- 
lation to the negotiation of the Florida treaty. That reply having a 
direct reference to incidents occurring in the congressional career of 



166 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS, 

Gov. Brown, may be seen in the Daily Globe of December 14, 1844. 
A reply to Mr. Adams, on the Oregon bill, may be seen in the "Consti- 
tution" of January 29, 1845, and also a reply to another speech of Mr, 
Adams may be seen in the National Intelligencer of February 3, 1845. 

On the r2th March, 1844, Gov, Brown, as chairman of the commit- 
tee on territories, reported a bill to extend the civil and criminal juris- 
diction of the several courts of the territory of Iowa over the territory 
of Oregon, and for other purposes. At the next session he reported 
another bill, organizing a territorial government for Oregon, which 
passed the house by a large majority, but was lost in the senate. 

Governor Brown's service in Congress ended with the commence- 
ment of President Polk's administration. He declined any office 
under the administration, and determined to return home and devote 
himself to the education of his children and the management of his own 
private affairs. Before he reached home, however, he was nominated 
by the democratic party as its candidate for governor. He met the 
news of this nomination at Pittsburg, and hesitated many days whether 
he would accept it or not. It conflicted with all his purposes to retire 
to private life to accept it, and opened a wide field of labor with but 
little prospect of success. Mr. Polk had failed twice for the same 
office, and could not carry the state in his j^residential race, nnder 
all the zeal and excitement which it created. Besides this, Mr. Polk, 
in organizing his administration, and selecting his friends for different 
offices, had withdrawn from the state some ot- the most influential and 
powerful members of the party. He himself was gone, Hon. Cave 
Johnson was gone, General Robert Armstrong was gone, and several 
others whose weight had been always felt in state elections. Dis- 
couraging, however, as were the prospects, he finally determined to 
take the field against Colonel Foster, a late senator, and one of the 
most popular and able men of the whig party. The discussions of the 
canvass turned chiefly on the tariff', the Texas and the Oregon questions. 

In this canvass Gov. Brown was elected by a majority of 1,500 or 
1,600; but in that of 1847, he was defeated by about half that number. 
For the last twelve years parties have been so nearly balanced in Ten- 
nessee that they have carried the state alternately against each other. 
The one last defeated brings to the polls at the next election a little 
more zeal and determination to retrieve their last misfortune, and are 
therefoi-e very apt to prove triumphant. 

In the next year, 1848, Gov. Brown was a candidate for elector for 
the state at large, and canvassed it with great vigor, sustaining and 
even surpassing the reputation which he had previously acquired. 

In 1850, he was a member of the Southern Convention held at Nash- 
ville. He concurred fully in the resolutions passed at the first session 
of that body, but dissented from and protested against the address. At 
the second session of that body in November following, Gov. Brown 
dissented altogether from the report submitted by the committee on 
resolutions; and, to exhibit his own views and those of the democracy 
of the state, prepared what was called and known as the Tennessee 
Platform, which, after being submitted to the delegation of the state 
and being approved by them, w-as by their order submitted by General 



ii 



AARON V. BROWN, OF TENNESSEE. ] 67 

Pillow to the convention. His whole course at both sessions was emi- 
nently conservative. At neither session, and at no stage of the slavery- 
agitation, would he hear or think of a dissolution of the Ihiion, He 
considered secession or a dissolution of the Union as no remedy for 
alleged grievances. His favorite remedy against the whole series of 
aggressions -was retaliation, as set forth in the Tennessee Platform. 
This he believed would soon exhibit to the North a greater power to 
injure them than they have had to injure the South ; and that, upon the 
simple principle of self-interest, both sections would presently cease 
the profitless controversy. 

The last public station which Gov. Brown has occupied was that of a 
delegate from the state at large in the late Baltimore convention. He 
introduced a very important resolution into that body, raising a com- 
mittee of one from each state, to be appointed by the delegates from 
each state, to whom all resolutions relative to the principles or platform 
of the democratic party should be referred without debate. The im- 
portance of such a reference, without debate, was instantly peiceived, 
and .the resolution was adopted. He was unanimously appointed the 
chairman, and subsequently reported the platform, which has given such 
general satisfaction to his party in every portion of the United States. 
Gov. Brown has reason to be proud of the concurrence of his party in 
the platforms whicli, at different times, he has prepared for them. He 
was the author of the Tennessee platform in the Southern Convention. 
He prepared and presented the platform which was unanimously sanc- 
tioned in the convention at Nashville, on which the last gubernatorial 
battle was fought in Tennessee ; and that he had the honor assigned to 
him of repotting the national platform of democratic principles at tlie 
late convention was highlv a-ratifving to his numerous friends. 



I 




Jinl-byaS Sadd 



MAJTo dJES-o (BIBMO:^ JoPIlLOW^ 



■ !t.-K&y of 2!mirign£ Americans . 



MAJOR GEN. GIDEON J. PILLOW. 

OF TENNESSEE. 

The subject of this sketch was bora on the 8th day of June, 1806, 
in Williamson county, in the State of Tennessee. He was the second 
son of Gideon and Annie Pillow. John Pillow, the firandfather of 
General Pillow, moved to Tennessee in the year 1783, and settled 
in the present city of Nashville, in the midst of the most ferocious 
and hostile tribe of Indians, who at that day held almost undisputed 
sway over that part of the country. He had five sons — William, 
Gideon, John, Mordecai, and Abner, all of whom grew up amidst 
the hardships, perils and privations incident to the frontier settlements 
of that statCj For many years they were constantly engaged in the 
Indian wars, which for so long a time retarded the settlement of that 
part of the country. These five brothers were all distinguished for 
their activity, and fearless and daring intrepidity in their conflicts with 
the Indians. Col. Wm. Pillow was greatly distinguished in the war 
of 1812, under General Jackson, and, while gallantly charging at the 
head of his regiment in the battle of Talledega, was shot through the 
body, from which wound he has been ever since disabled. General 
Pillow's grandfither and his brothers, and three brothers of his grand- 
mother, were all soldiers of the Revolutionary War; the youngest of 
whom, Abner Johnson, (for many years a pensioned soldier,) died, at 
the advanced age of ninety-three, in June, 1851. Gen. Pillow's mother 
was a daughter of Josiah Payne, who was an uncle of Mrs. Madison, 

Gen. Pillow graduated at the Nashville University in 1827. Hav- 
ing selected the law as his profession, he entered immediately upon its 
study, under the direction of the Hon. W. E. Kennedy, then one of the 
judges of the Circuit Court of Tennessee. After eighteen months' close 
study under Judge Kennedy, he went to the office of the Hon. W. L. 
Ijrown, then one of the judges of the Supreme Court of the state, 
where, after eighteen months' additional study, he was licensed by 
.1 udges Catron (now Justice Catron of the Supreme Court of the United 
States) and White, at that time presiding on the Supreme Bench of 
Tennessee. 

Having settled in Columbia, Tennessee, he immediately entered upon 
the practice of his profession. The bar of Columbia was at that time 
one of the ablest in the state. Gen. Pillow, by his thorough knowledge 
of his profession, obtained during three years' hard study before he was 
licensed — by strict attention to the business of his clier.ts — by his en- 
ergy, tact, quick perception of the true points at issue, and his almost 
intuitive knowledge of men, soon acquired the character of an able and 
successful lawyer, and in the course of ten years ranked with the first 
lawyers of his state. While he was greatly distinguished as an advo- 
cate and criminal lawyer, he shared largely in all the important litigated 
business of the portion of the state in which he resided. Avoiding all 
the seductive allurements of political life, and devoting himself with 



no SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

an energy which overcame every obstacle, an industry which enabled 
him to master every subject, his professional career was, perhaps, the 
most successful, if not the most brilliant, of that of any lawyer of his state. 

In 1844 his warm personal friendship for Mr. Polk induced him to 
depart from his accustomed pursuits, so flir as to go to Baltimore as a 
delegate to the Democratic National Convention. His active partici- 
pation in that convention is known to have greatly contributed to the 
result which placed Mr. Polk before the nation. He entered warmly 
into the political canvass which followed. At a great mass-meeting 
which assembled in the immediate vicinity of Mr. Polk's residence, he, 
at the request of Mr. Polk, delivered a speech upon the Texas question, 
in answer to a letter of Mr. Clay's, combatting the annexation of Texas 
as a violation of international law. This argument of General Pillow 
evinced a thorough acquaintance with international law, met and refuted 
triumphantly all the positions assumed by Mr. Clay, and was distin- 
guished by great ability and research. It was published in pamphlet 
form, in great numbers, by the Democratic Association of Tennessee, 
and was extensively circulated over the country. It added greatly to 
the already high reputation of its author. 

After Mr. Polk's election. Gen. Pillow returned to his accustomed 
pursuits, neither seeking nor desiring any position in the government, 
and was found in the full and successful practice of his profession when 
he received a commission as brigadier-general in the army in the w ar 
with Mexico. He received his commission on the evening of the 13th 
of July, 1846 ; on the morning of the 14th July he tore himself loose 
from his family and professional engagements, and proceeded directly 
to Camargo, in Mexico, the then head-quarters of the American army. 
He was the first general officer of the then recent appointments who re- 
ported for duty to General Taylor. By great effort and extraordinary 
energy he was enabled to carry forward with him his brigade of Tennes 
see volunteers. 

He was most ardent in his desire to go forward with General Taylor 
in the movement then about to be made upon Monterey. In this de- 
sire, however, he was sadly disappointed. The arrangements of General 
Taylor for moving on Monterey only contemplated a force of some 
6,000 men of all arms. The volunteers of the column were selected by 
lot, and organized into a field division under General Butler, with 
Quitman and Hamer for his brigadiers. In consequence of the non- 
employment of the remaining troops. General Pillow was left in com 
mand of a brigade in depot at Camargo. His attention was turned to 
the instruction of his command in the duties of its new profession, and 
the establishment of an efficient discipline. Such duty as that is most 
trying on the patience and devotion of an officer, for it is that of rou- 
tine, without the stimulus of an immediate and urgent necessity for ex- 
ertion. In respect to the troops at Camargo, the honors and fatigues 
of the service were being gathered and undergone by other troops, 
though not all the dangers ; for the fatal diseases of an unhealthy climate 
broke out, and made as many, if not more victims than both sword 
and pestilence in the active portions of the army. Among those at- 
tacked was General Pillow, who, after lying dangerously ill for many 
weeks, became so far restored as to bo able to travel. Under the sup- 



GIDEON J. PILLOW, OF TENNESSEE. 171 

position that a period of inactivity M'ould ensue, ho made preparations to 
leave the country for the benefit of his health, and had proceeded as far 
as the mouth of the Rio Grande. There he learned of the movement 
of the army on Victoria. He returned at once, marched from Mata- 
moras, in command of a brigade, to Victoria ; and when General Scott 
dismembered Taylor's command in order to lay siege to Vera Cruz, 
Pillow marched for Tampico, there embarked, and was present at the 
landing of the American army, opposite Sacrificios, on the 9th of March, 
1847. On the following day the extension of the lines of investment 
commenced, and in the execution of this duty Pillow became first posi- 
tivelv engaged with the enemv. 

Worth's division of regulars having taken its ground on the right of 
the proposed line without serious opposition, Patterson was ordered to 
move his troops to their station on its left, and to the south and west of 
the city of Vera Cruz. The enemy had, however, assembled in force 
to dispute the further occupation of the line, and the general of division 
ordered Pillow to dislodge him from an old building (the hacienda Mali- 
bran) and the chaparral in its vicinity. His force was composed of 
two regiments of Tennessee, and two of Pennsylvania volunteers, and 
the report of his division-commander describes his conduct in the fol- 
lowing language : 

" A few minutes after. General Pillow, having penetrated the chapar- 
ral, encountered the Mexican infantry in the vicinity of the ruined build- 
ing, whence, after some sharp firing, he drove them with loss, one ofli- 
cer and three men having been left upon the field. He now opened his 
way through the chaparral, and, pushing on with the First Tennessee 
Regiment, (Colonel Campbell's,) gained possession of the magazine, (a 
strong stone building south of the hacienda Malibran,) in which were 
found a large number of segude rockets, and one hundred and twenty 
boxes of shrapnel shot. Leaving Colonel Campbell's regiment to hold 
this point, he moved on with the Second Tennessee regiment, (Colonel 
Haskell's.) and the First Pennsylvania Regiment, (Colonel Wynkoop's.) 
against a body of cavalry and infantry occupying the rail-road at its 
intersection with the Madeline road. Here the enemy was again driven, 
and he was now pursued through a dense chaparral and over a rugged 
country to the crest of the hills southwest of the city. On these hills 
the enemy rallied and made a show of resistance ; but he was compel- 
led, as before, to retire as our troops steadily advanced, until, com- 
pletely routed, he sought shelter under the guns of the city. The two 
regiments last named, although exposed to the fire from the guns of the 
city, bivouacked on these heights." 

This, the most considerable action which occurred in the extension of 
the lines of investment at the siege of Vera Cruz, closed the operations 
of the 13th of March. The two following days the extension was com- 
pleted to Vergara, and the business of the siege commenced. 

During its continuance the subject of this memoir was occupied in 
active reconnoissance and the. detail duties of his command. In the 
course of them he had a conspicuous share in the operations which re- 
sulted in the fall of that important place; and upon its commander ofier- 
ing to capitulate, Gen. Pillow was appointed one of the commissioners 
for the negotiation of the terms, on the part of General Scott, with 



n2 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Gen. Worth and Col. Totten, Chief Engineer, and Capt. Aulick, on the 
part of the naval commander. How he performed the delicate duty 
appears from the official report of the general-in-chief, for in it he has 
said that " four more able or judicious officers could not have been de- 
sired." 

The speedy approach of the sickly season forced upon the American 
army the necessity of a prompt movement from Vera Cruz into the in- 
terior. The arrival and organization of trains of transportation was 
only awaited ; and with but little knowledge of the movements or in- 
tentions of the enemy, the advance commenced on the 9th of April. 
Twiggs' division moved on that day. and on the following Patterson's, 
under the temporary command of Pillow, followed. On the 14th, 
Gen. Scott received private dispatches informing him that the enemy 
was concentrating in force to oppose him at some point between Puente 
Nacional and Jalapa. This information vras forwarded by special ex- 
press to the advance, but both Twiggs and Pillow had received similar 
information, and were prepared for opposition. 

None was made on the road to Plan del Rio by Gen. Santa Anna, 
who had taken post at Cerro Gordo, and was awaiting the arrival of the 
American army. The different divisions, as they came up, were halted 
at Plan del Rio, and during several days' reconnoissances were pushed 
to close vicinity of the enemy's works. The general disposition for 
the attack had been early determined upon by the general-in-chief after 
his arrival at Plan del Rio, and it was intended that Gen. Pillow should 
lead the columns against the enemy's right. 

The pass of Cerro Gordo, projf^erly so called, extends for about a mile 
along the road, which, in that vicinity, forms an angle with the base of 
the hill of Cerro Gordo, its salient being given to the west. Within 
this angle w^as erected the lines of Mexican entrenchments ; three ridges 
extended from the salient of the angle towards the east, and the ex- 
tremities of each were fortified by works completely commanding the 
road, as well as by any route which might be found between it and the 
rocky banks of the Rio del Plan. The right wing of the Mexican army 
garrisoned these entrenchments, while the left was about the western 
extremity of the pass, and on the hill of Cerro Gordo, which commanded 
a view of the whole country, and ail entrenchments of the Mexican posi- 
tion. Strong Mexican reserves were to the rear of the pass and Cerro 
Gordo. 

The order of battle issued by the general-in-chief on the 17th of April, 
contemplated the turning of the whole position by the right with 
Twiggs' division and Shields' brigade, while Pillow's brigade should as- 
sault the strong lines of entrenchments on the Mexican right. 

Battery No. 1, at the extremity of the ridge nearest the precipitous 
banks of El Rio del Plan, was divided from No. 2 by a ravine. No. 2 
was a strong field-work with two salients, having, besides, two com- 
manding works in the rear. The ravine which intervened between Nos. 
2 and 3 was of greater width, but the latter work was so constructed as 
to deliver a flank fire upon any force assaulting No. 2. The whole 
ground in front of the lines was of exceeding difficulty, being broken 
and rocky, and covered with a growth of tropical shrubbery ; — a serious 
impediment to any advance, and ntterly precluding a distant view o 



i 



GIDEON J. PILLOW, OF TENNESSEE. 1 To 

the works. General Pillow, having been informed of the probable dis- 
position of his command, had labored for several preceding days in en- 
deavoring to complete a reconnoissance, and in the performance of this 
duty several times barely escaped from the pickets of the e'^emy. But 
the reconnoissances could not be pushed so close as to develop all the 
defences of the Mexican position, or all the impediments to be overcome 
by an assaulting force. 

The troops which were to turn the Mexican left, having advanced 
some distance on their route on the afternoon of the 17th, and batteries 
against the different Mexican positions having been located during the 
night, the dispositions were made early on the following morning for 
the final assault. The troops of Twiggs' command were disposed to 
assault and turn Cerro Gordo, while Pillow's brigade and Worth's 
division inarched from Plan del Eio, the former to take position for 
the assault, and the latter to remain in reserve. Near the mouth of the 
pass, Pillow diverged from the main road, and moved to the front of 
the Mexican batteries by a mountain path, which, though the only one 
leading to the position, was so broken and rocky as to admit only of 
the passage of troops by the flank. The intention of the brigadier- 
general was, to assault what in the obscurity of the Mexican positions 
appeared to be an angle, connecting batteries Nos. 1 and 2 at once 
upon each flank. The Second Tennessee Regiment, reinforced by a 
company of Kentucky, and one of Pennsylvania, and supported by the 
Second Pennsylvanians, was to form the assaulting column of the 
American right, while the First Pennsylvanians, supported by the First 
Tennesseeans, was to attack from the left, nearer the banks of the Rio 
del Plan. For the execution of these operations, the Second Tennessee 
regiment was placed in the advance, and moved to its position ; the 
First Pennsylvanians followed it, with instructions to proceed on to its 
post opposite the Mexican right, and the supporting forces were to have 
been within distance before the assault commenced. But the nature of 
the ground, and the obscurity of the Mexican position, obliged the 
troops to come under fire while in process of formation. The Second 
Tennessee regiment being in advance, was the first to receive it ; and 
although it stood to its ground with heroic bravery, yet the moment 
was critical and dangerous. Seventeen guns from front and flanks were 
opened by the enemy, in full and uninterrupted play ; and as the men 
were falling rapidly, and the fire having commenced at Cerro Gordo, 
Pillow ordered the immediate assault by the troops already in position, 
while in person he hastened to the left of the attacking column. The 
Second Tennessee regiment dashed rapidly forward at battery No. 2, 
through the tangled chaparral, and over rocks and line of abatis, 
which obstructed the approach. But the Mexican fire was heavy, and 
natural diflaculties prevented the approach of the supporting force, as 
well as the speedy assault of the Pennsylvanians on the right. Under 
this terrific storm of shot, shell and canister. Pillow, while pushing 
across the ravine to the front of battery No. 1, fell wounded ; and mean- 
while, notwithstanding the noble gallantry of the Second Tennessee 
regiment, the advance from the left had been checked, and under the 
severe fire of the enemy broken in its formation by its movement over 
such difficult ground, with its lieutenant-coJonel and major, six other 



17-4 SKETCIIKS OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

commissioned officers, and a fearful number of subordinate rank, upon the 
field, dead or wounded, and under the orders of its colonel (Haskell) to 
retreat, the regiment was falling back in some disorder. The colonel 
set the example, unworthy of his gallant regiment. The movements 
thus delayed, Colonel Campbell, of the First Tennessee Regiment, was 
ordered by Pillow to bring up the supporting forces, and re-form them 
for another and decisive assault. But before the troops could, be dis- 
posed, in the confusion resulting from Haskell's retrograde movement, 
the fire which had raged on the American right about the position of 
Cerro Gordo, had ceased ; and the enemy finding his retreat cut off, and 
that Pillow was about to renew the attack, threw out a white flag in 
token of surrender, which was soon after accepted ; and under the escort 
of Pillow's troops, the Mexican opposing forces were marched as pris- 
oners of war to the village of Plan del Rio. 

In this assault the principal loss fell upon the Second Tennessee 
Regiment, and its two companies of reinforcements. The First Tennes- 
seeans, who had fought so nobly at Monterey, although coming into 
action as a supporting force, yet suffered severely ; but their constancy 
and valor were in keeping with their previous conduct, and with that 
devotion with which the soldiers of their heroic state have ever upheld 
her own and their country's honor. 

The check which the Second Tennessee Regiment met with, was ne- 
cessarily a matter of deep regret; but though it lost ground as a body, 
it can never be said that it lost honor ; for the list of killed and 
wounded shows too plainly how constantly the men and subordinate 
officers stood their ground ; and had their colonel acted with a like gal- 
lantry, he, too, would have deserved the warrior's wreath of fame. 
But whether conscious of his own bad conduct or not, he chose some 
time afterwards to lay the responsibility of his own retreat at the door 
of his commander; the same commander who, in his feeling of pride in 
his state, and in charity for the man, had wished that nothing should 
appear against an officer in command of a regiment of Tennesseeans, and 
had included him in the general commendations so well earned by his 
gallant regiment. 

The attack upon General Pillow, in connection with this matter, and 
the effect which it had of bringing to light the bad conduct of him who 
made it, is too recent to have passed from the remembrance of his 
fellow-citizens. The vindication of the general, while it proved that in 
all times he had acted with judgment, and in that manner which under 
all known circumstances was the best calculated to obtain success, 
showed that the person who chose to take so unjustifiable a method of 
attacking a distinguished officer to whom he was politically oppoocd, as 
to appeal in a production totally uncalled for to the public, while the 
subject of the attack was engaged in service, from which the author of 
the assault had just retired, was totally unfit for the position to which 
the partiality of his soldiers had elected him; and that, in the excite- 
ment of the action, he was not a competent witness, either in regard to 
the conduct of his general, or to any matter which had occurred upon 
the field. 

But the military reputation of General Pillow does not require a re- 
ference to his vindication against this unprovoked and unjustifiable as- 



d 



GIDEON J. PILLOW, OF TENNESSEE. 175 

sault; for the facts of his conduct speak for themselves in his favor, 
and the official reports of his division-commander, and of the general-in- 
chief, alike bear testimony in his praise, while subsequent events have 
placed it far above dispute or contradiction, although party malevo- 
lence and party intrigue have caused most strenuous exertions to be 
put forth to cloud its brilliancy, and to deprive him of the approbation 
of his countrymen — the first wish, as it is the greiitest reward, of a true 
patriot and soldier. 

The progress of the Mexican war had shown the necessity of employ- 
ing a larger force of regular troops ; for the term of service of the vol- 
unteers, who had fought so well on every field in whose glories they 
had participated, had nearly expired. 

A bill had passed Congress, authorizing the President to raise ten 
additional regiments for the army, and to appoint the necessary general 
officers for their command. Of his selections for the grade of Major- 
General, Pillow was one, and his future active service in the army was 
in that character. 

When General Scott discharged the twelve months' volunteers, ?ome 
month and a-half before the expiration of their term of service, from 
Jalapa, Pillow was left without command. He had heard of his pro- 
iBotion, but had not received official notification of it. In the interval 
of active operations, he returned to the United States, and, after a short 
visit to his family, returned to New-Orleans, where for a time he was 
employed in forwarding his command, which had already been raised, 
and of which portions were then en route for the seat of war. He soon 
set out in person, and by the middle of June arrived at Vera Cruz, 
where he found a considerable force encamped, and awaiting the or- 
ganization of transportation to advance. General Cadwallader, one of 
his brigadiers, had arrived from Brazos Santiago, and had marched from 
Vera Cruz a short time previous. In the midst of the sickly season, 
and in the necessity known to exist of speedy reinforcement to the 
American army, Genera[Pillow at once set about preparing for the 
advance, and by his energetic endeavors, in a few- days he was enabled 
to proceed. 

The sultry climate of the tierra caliente of Mexico made the marches 
extremely severe upon officers and men, and, notwithstanding every 
precaution, many suffered under the trial. But moving on as rapidly 
as possible, with a due regard to safety, the column cleared the sickly 
tierra caliente, passed Jalapa, which had been abandoned by the order 
of General Scott, and rising upon the plateau of Mexico, effected a 
junction on the first of July, with Cadwallader, who, under Pillow's 
order, was awaiting its arrival at Perote. Thence the whole command, 
numbering over 2,500 of all arms, marched to Puebla, then the posi- 
tion of the main army, where it arrived on the 8th of July. Through- 
out the movement from Vera Cruz, all the troops had Heen harrassed 
and annoyed by attacks from guerrilla. The heaviest of these had been 
encountered by the advance under Cadwallader, but they had been con- 
tinued against the other portions, and were kept up from time to time, 
until the column arrived at Puebla. 

While the American army remained at Puebla, it is known that 
negotiations were carried on by General Scott and Mr. Trist with the 



176 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Mexiccan president, having in view the commencement of nesjotlations 
for peace. The position held by General Pillow caused him to be 
consulted. The full nature of these negotiations has never been made 
public by the principal participants, General Scott and Mr. Trist. Nay, 
they have positively refused to give information respecting them, and 
that which is known has become apparent more by the development of 
facts in subsequent affliirs, than by any declaration, either official or 
private. These fjicts prove the part which General Pillow took therein, 
and the course which he considered most advantageous to his country, 
as the sequel will fully show. He was in fixvor of pursuing any law- 
ful method by which the evils of war could be ended, so long as the 
safety and honor of the American army was not placed in jeopardy by a 
reliance upon the good faith of an enemy known to be treacherous in 
the extreme. There is palpable evidence to show that before his march 
from Puebla to the city of Mexico, the general-in-chief had in contem- 
plation the agreement to an armistice, which was afterwards entered 
into ; and Pillow's opposition to this measure, which he feared would 
accumulate the difficulties, if it did not cause disaster to the American 
army, was afterwards the cause of General Scott's displeasure. But 
the facts in relation to the matter will be seen in the course of the 
narrative. 

The American army marched from Puebla in the early part of Au- 
gust, against the Mexican capital. It moved by division on successive 
days. Pillow's, which was the rearmost, moved on the 10th, and on 
the 13th entered the valley of Mexico, making up the total strength of 
the gallant army of 10,500 men, which was about to assault the capital 
of Mexico, a city of 200,000 inhabitants, defended as it was by stony 
fortifications, and an army of over thirty-five thousand men. The pre- 
vious days had been employed in reconnoissance and the selection of a 
point of attack ; and on the 14th a meeting of general officers was held 
at Ayotla. at which the general-in-chief explained his views, and gave 
his orders for an attack upon Mexicalcingo, a strong point on the south- 
east of the city, but these orders were modified on account of in- 
f<rmation, the result of a reconnoissance conducted by Lieutenant- 
Colonel Duncan, by which a route was shown to be practicable, turn- 
inf the system of exterior defences on the east of Mexico, and effecting 
an approach on the southern point. The army moved around Salse 
Chalco, and on the 18th of August was in position near St. Augus- 
tine Flapam, on the Acapulco road. Reconnoissances were made on 
that day for selecting a route for the further advance. Worth's division 
had been advanced to within observing distance of the fortified hacienda 
of San Antonio, which obstructed the direct movement by the Acapul- 
co road. The position was found so strong, that the American general- 
in-chief turned his attention towards a route which he hoped could be 
made practicable by labor; and on the duty of opening the road by the 
rancho of Padienna, across the pedrigal, General Pillow proceeded with 
his division on the morning of the 1.9th. After advancing a few miles, 
he learned that a strong division of the Mexican army was in position 
to oppose him ; and hearing that the enemy was just then locating his 
heavy guns, he desired to push forward and commence the battle im- 
mediately, and before the enemy had completed his preparations. 



GIDEON J. PILLOW, OF T&NNESSEK, ] '^'f 

General Scott's orders were, however, positive that the road should be 
finished as far as practicable before commencing the action ; and while 
the worlv was progressing. Twiggs' division was sent forward to the 
advance as the covering force. Upon rising the slope of the hill of 
Zacatepec, the troops came under long range of the IMexican guns, and 
the necessity of a battle, in order to secure a further advance, was at 
once apparent. 

PiUow had been, during the morning, upon the summit of the hill of 
Zacatepec, observing the entrenched camp, which was in his path, and 
had decided upon the plan of operations. The camp lay upon a hill, 
side in front of, and commanding the only practicable route for making 
a road across the pedrigal, an immense field of lava, which extended 
from the mountains on the south of the valley of Mexico to the position 
of San Antonio, and, being deemed impassable by the Mexican general, 
was defended only at the position of the camp. The only direct com- 
nmnication which the Mexican general, Valencia, had with the capital, 
was by the road through San Angel, running north from the point where 
he had taken post. The American approach was from the east, and 
Gen. Pillow determined that while an attack should take place in front, 
an endeavor should be made to cross the pedrigal with infantry, and 
seize the village of San Geronimo, which lay directly upon the Mexican 
line of communication, with a view to cutting off reinforcements, and of 
attacking the position in rear. As Twiggs' division had been placed in 
the advance by General Scott, in obedience to Pillow's direction, 
Twiggs moved directly against the front with Smith's brigade, and in a 
few moments. Pillow in person ordered Riley to move on San Geroni- 
mo. The battle had fairly commenced on the part of the Mexicans, in 
an unceasing cannonade, and Smith's brigade drove back a cloud of 
Mexican skirmishers, which occupied the pedrigal in front of the en- 
trenched camp. His advance was for a time rapid, while Riley's was 
very slow over the diiliciilt ground, and at one time it was feared that 
the passage of the pedrigal was impracticable — but a short time showed 
that this opinion was erroneous, and as in that direction lay the decisive 
point of the field. Pillow at once ordered Cadwallader to follow with his 
brigade, and to support Riley. Soon after Cadw'allader had moved, 
Twiggs sent back for support for Smiih's brigade, and Pierce, of Pil- 
low's division, was ordered forward ; but as it passed the hill of Zaca- 
tepec, on which the commander had taken position, heavy reinforce- 
ments of Mexican troops were observed in march from the city towards 
the position of Valencia, and the vital importance of the village of San 
Geronimo, which had been unforeseen, was still more fully demonsttated. 
Gen. Pillov/, therefore, halted one regiment of Pierce's brigade, which 
he held for some little time, until the intentions of the enemy became 
certain, and then it was sent to the support of Ca<lwallader and to warn 
him of his danger. The two remaining regiments passed on to the 
front, and all the American troops on the field, except a battery of 
horse-artillery and some squadrons of dragoons, which were unable to 
operate over the rugged ground, had been placed in position, and en- 
gaged the enemy. Some few minutes afterwards. Gen. Scott arrived 
on the field, and although he did not positively assume the command, 
ety, as he was there, and of course consulted upon them, the subsequent 



nS SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

I 

movements of the field are substantially his. lie expressed his high 
commendation of what Gen. Pillow had ordered, however ; an as all 
the troops were e?i route or disposed of, he awaited the course of events. 
When Shields' brigade arrived from San Augustin, that general was 
ordered to follow and support the forces which had already passed the 
pedrigal. But the early movements of the action, which Pillow had 
ordered, had already secured the victory — for Valencia was cut off from 
support; Riley had gained a position for attacking his rear; Cadwalla- 
der had taken a strong position in San Geronimo, and otlering battle 
with his small brigade to the Mexican army, had arrested its march and 
prevented a junction with Valencia. The isolation of the camp necessa- 
rily resulted in the achievement of the victory of the following morning. 

It was not until near nightfall that General Pillow obtained General 
Scott's permission to leave the position on the hill of Zacatepec, to cross 
the pedrigal, and give his attention to the immediate movement in the 
vicinity of San Geronimo ; and then the broken and rugged nature of 
the ground rendered a passage impracticable in that direction, as no 
marked elevation was presented which could serve to guide the way 
through the darkness, lii consequence. Generals Pillow and Twiggs 
were prevented from crossing; but San Geronimo having l)een occupied, 
the proper course of action was then fully apparent, and the battle of 
Contreras, which was so gallantly and successfully fought on the follow- 
ing morning, was the consequence. General Pillow arrived on the 
field soon after the achievement of the victory, and pursued the enemy 
to San Angel. From that point he suggested the idea of threatening 
the flanks of San Antonio, by a movement in force, whilst Worth ope- 
rated in front with his division. 

General Scott ordered him to move cautiously forward, and Pillow 
advanced in command of his own and Twiggs' division, and Shields" 
brigade, to Cayacan, where he was overtaken by General Scott, wh<> 
assumed the command. The object thus far had been to force the 
works of San Antonio, and open the road through them to the positions 
of Tacubaya and Chepultepec. But that object had been gained by the 
demonstration and Worth's operations against San Antonio. General 
Bravo had retreated from the position, and Scott, anxious to cut off the 
retreat, pushed Twiggs, with one brigade, towards the San Antonio 
road, to take post between the retreating enemy and the city, and 
ordered Pillow with another to march in the direction of the hacienda, 
and fall on in flank. These movements were ordered without the 
knowledge of the ground, and in no expectation of falling in with the 
main body of the Mexican army, in strong fortified positions. But so 
it was. An advanced regiment of Worth's division, moving on the 
San Antonio road, first came under fire ; and next Twiggs' troops ran 
full against a strongly fortified convent, completely sweeping the path 
by which it had been hoped to cut off the retreat of the enemy. 
The battle of Churubusco was at once commenced, and v.'ith such good 
will on the part of the Mexican troops, as to demonstrate, in the fullest 
manner, that a severe stru^Ecle for victory was to be decided before the 
conquest of the capital ; or before the agreement of an armistice to 
allow time for negotiations which Gen. Scott had previously determined 
upon, in compliance wnth the negotiations with the Mexican President. 



GIDEON J. PILLOW, OF TENNESSEE. 179 

When the battle commenced, Pillow was in march towards San 
Antonio in execution of his orders, but the rear of the conflict about 
the convent told him that he was not moving upon the true point of 
battle, and, on coming in sight of the San Antonio causeway, he at 
once inclined strongly to the left, and proceeded rapidly to the head of 
the brigade, across the marshy fields and irrigating ditches which inter- 
vened between him and the road. As he reached it he effected. a junc- 
tion with Worth's division, the main body of which was then advancing 
up from San Antonio in pursuit. 

The severity of the battle which was raging on the left, made it ne- 
cessary that decisive action should at once be taken, and the two 
generals prepared to move their commands upon the Mexican posi- 
tions directly in their front, which were in general the line of the rivu- 
let of Churubusco, the passage of which was defended by a strong and 
beautifully constructed tete du pont^ mounting several guns of different 
calibres. The main body of the Mexican army was opposed to them ; 
but the nature of the ground, covered as it was with a dense growth 
of corn, prevented cl'^ise reconnoissance, and here, since the action had 
commenced, and so severely on the left, prudence took the form of 
bold and immediate assault, without which other portions of the army 
would have been compromised with the whole Mexican force. Though 
without orders from the general-in-chief, the dispositions were made at 
once. Worth stretched his division to the right, and advanced; Pillow 
sent two regiments to advance on the left of the causeway, and soon 
became closely and warmly engaged. 

To describe so long and so brilliant a military struggle as the battle 
of Churubusco, would take more space than can be given to the pre- 
sent memoir. But after it once opened, the bravery and determination 
of the assault was that in which military judgment would alone insure 
success. The Mexicans resisted stoutly, and for nearly three hours 
the loud roar of musketry and the peals of artillery resounded over the 
field, while clouds of smoke hung over the whole Mexican position. 
The American fire in front of the tete du pant was in comparison small, 
for under the direction of their generals, the American troops were 
feeling their way, and would not throw away their fire upon an uncer- 
tain object. 

When the nature of the battle had become developed. General Scott 
sent Shields' and Pierce's brigades to turn the Mexican position, and 
assault the rear of the tete du pout. This force fell in with the strong 
bodies of Mexican reserve, and, although in position of imminent peril, 
made good battle. Neither it nor the troops of Twigg's command, 
however, made any decided impression upon the enemy for a long time. 
To advance was impracticable, although men and officers strove gal- 
lantly to breast the storm of shot which was showered upon them. 
In front of the tete du pont, the struggle was no less terrific ; but the 
American troops were gradually drawing nearer to that work. Worth's 
troops had approached near the river Churubusco, and a party from 
different regiments crossed the rivulet, the Mexicans giving way before 
their determined advance. Pillow, finding it impossible to operate 
with effect against the enemy in their front, under the cross fire of the 
convent, the tete du j)ont., and the line of the Mexican infantry, moved 



180 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMEKICASS. 



under this fire iinmediately in front of the tete du pont, crossed the 
road, and took post upon the right. Soon after their arrival, the storm 
of the tete da pont took place, and the troops of the united commands, 
rushing through the wet ditches, over the parapets, and into the work, 
carried the fiist and most important strong point of the Mexican posi- 
tion. Amongst the troops most conspicuous in this successful assault, 
was the 14th regiment of Pillow's division, which, under the leading 
of Colonel Trousdale, a gallant Tennesseean, fell in with and cap- 
tured a portion of the battalion of San Patricio, with its standard. 
This battalion was composed of deserters from the American army; 
and as the traitors fought with the alternative of a shameful death, 
they were the most desperate of any troops in the ranks of the 
enemy. 

The effect of the flill of the fete du pont was to secure the victory to 
the American arms. Before the fiery assault of Pillow's and Worth's 
commands, the Mexican line gave way, and rolled in disorder upon the 
flank of the reserve which was engaged with Shields', which also fled, 
and in a short time the whole Mexican army was in full i-etreat to the 
city ; for, by a happy combination of circumstances, Shields' and 
Pierce's troops pressed heavily upon their opponents, as Pillow and 
Worth drove the enemy from his line, and came down upon the flank. 
The convent opposed to Twiggs still held out, but it was isolated, and 
Col. Duncan having placed his guns in position, to enfilade one face of 
the field-work by which it was surrounded, General Pillox ordered the 
regiment of voltigeurs to move the assault under cover of their fire. 
The Mexican General, Rincon, however, finding himself perfectly un- 
supported, hung out a white flag in token of surrender, and Twigg's 
troops took possession of the place which they had for so long a time 
been contending against. 

The movements in pursuit were commenced by General Pillow or- 
dering Captain Kearney, with three troops of dragoons, to pursue the 
enemy ; and Worth and Pillow, collecting their troops with alacrity, 
moved on, and effecting a junction with Shields' and Pierce's corps, 
which had moved forward to tlie causeway, were in full march to the 
city, in support of the dragoons, when orders were received from the 
general-in-chief to halt the army, and suspend operations. 

In a few moments, and without material additional loss to the army, 
General Pillow would have entered the city of Mexico, at the head of 
the army ; would most probably have captured Santa Anna, and made 
him and army prisoners, and taken his artillery and munitions of war, 
and put an end to the campaign. To be halted, at such a moment, at 
the head of our victorious army, and to be compelled to call off the 
pursuit, after two hard-fought battles, in which we had lost, in killed 
and wounded, over one thousand brave men, was a painful duty, and 
one which General Pillow (though WMth great reluctance) performed, as 
the order of General Scott was positive. 

Upon returning to the battle-field of Churubusco — a distance of a 
mile and half to the rear — General Scott informed General Pillow that 
he had suspended operations for the purpose of granting an armistice to 
treat for peace. 

This, General Pillow immediately opposed, saying to General Scott, 



GIDEON J. PILLOW, OF TENNESSEE. 181 

thai the city was in his power — that he should take it ; put his army 
under shelter; provide for its wants, and then grant the enemy an 
armistice to treat for peace, if he desired it. He further told General 
Scott, that he had no confidence in Santa Anna's ffood faith, in desiring 
to treat for peace; and he believed that Santa Anna would avail him- 
self of the interval allowed for an armistice to recruit his beaten army 
and strengthen the defences of the city. 

General Scott replied, that his purpose was settled — that if he enter- 
ed the city, he would disperse the goverment, and with it all hopes of 
peace. 

By the terms of the negotiation at Puebla, General Scott was to pay 
ten thousand dollars in advance. He was to fight a battle before the 
city ; and if he won it, he was then to grant an armistice. He refused 
to take the initiative, by sending a flag of truce. But he had paid the 
money — had now fought the battle — had halted the army at the moment 
when a last decisive blow was about to be struck, and had now determin- 
ed to grant the armistice. Santa Anna had not sent any flag ; for he had 
refused to take the initiative — neither had he communicated with Gen- 
eral Scott. Santa Anna, in his proclamation declaring the armistice, 
said, that General Scott had asked for it. Hence it is manifest that 
General Scott was acting upon and carrying out the terms, literally, of 
the Puebla negotiation. This conviction having taken possession of 
General Pillow's mind, explains at once his determined and continued 
opposition to the armistice; and when the fears and apprehensions of 
Pillow were all more than verified, and General Scott, after fifteen 
days' fruitless negotiation, found he had again to resume oflensive opera- 
tions with numbers greatly reduced, and against the defences greatly 
strengthened — and when it turned out in the after operations of the 
army, in taking the city, that the army had to atone for this error of its 
commanding general, in the blood of over sixteen hundred of its bravest 
spirits, and the armistice had become as odious to the American public 
as it had been fatal to the army, it may at once be seen what motive 
operated upon General Scott, afterwards, in his fierce proscription and 
persecution of the officer who had opposed, with such determined pur- 
pose, his disreputable Puebla negotiations, and the armistice which fol- 
lowed as one of its features. 

By the testimony which was given before the subsequent Court of 
Inquiry, it is proved that both Pillow and Worth opposed the terms 
of that disastrous convention, although in a different manner. Pillow 
opposed it in toto. Worth desired the surrender of the Castle of Che- 
pultepec, as a sine qua non, fur the security of the enemy's good faith ; 
and their views were presented to the general-in-chief, in an interview 
which took place soon after the conversation. Pillow did not let his 
demonstration of disapprobation of the measure stop here; but, on the 
same afternoon, wrote a note to the general-in-chief, in which, in the 
most friendly manner, a change of the terms was most strongly urged. 
The note was borne to Gen. Scott by Gen. Pierce, one of the commis- 
sioners. But it foiled of effect. Nothing was required as a guarantee 
of Mexican fidelity, though all history told that it was unworthy of 
trust. The armistice was agreed to. Every military advantage, won 
at the cost of the blood of a thousand men at Contreras and Churubus- 



182 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

CO, was given up, and the enemy allowed time to collect his routed 
troops, and to erect formidable inferior fortifications. The conse- 
quence was such as Pillow had anticipated ; and after two weeks of 
negotiation, in which Mr. Trist, the American commissioner, had 
made many unauthorized concessions, in his attempt to conciliate Mex- 
ican pride, the American general-in-chief found himself obliged to 
re-fight the battle, with numbers reduced, and in the face of fortifica- 
tions which had been strengthened and constructed by the enemy du- 
ring the armistice. 

The first effort made by General Scott against the Mexican general, 
after the resumption of hostilities, was the attack on Molino del Rey, 
which had for its object the destruction of a foundry supposed to exist. 
With this view it was to be but a partial operation — Worth's division 
and Cadwallader's brigade only to be engaged, while Pillow, with Pierce's 
and Riley's brigades was to approach the city on its south, to make a 
show of demonstration ; for demonstration it could hardly be called, 
when the point at which they were to be located was more than two 
miles from the city. During the evening of September 7th, General 
Pillow obtained information that the foundry had no existence, and 
communicated it that night to the general-in-chief But Scott had 
made his arrangements, was still in doubt, and the attack took place. 
Worth, however, instead of becoming engaged in a partial skirmish, 
such as had been anticipated, found himself opposed by a large part of 
the Mexican army, and the position of his gallant command was critical 
in the extreme. 

Nothing but hard fighting, and that such as few troops were ever engag- 
ed in, saved the Battle of Molino del Rey. During its continuance. Pil- 
low, who, at the hacienda of San Boissa, was watching the progress of 
events, becoming fearful that Worth might not be able to sustain him- 
self against such overwhelming odds, and knowing that he commanded 
the nearest American troops, which even then were three miles from 
the field, started without order, with Pierce's and Riley's brigades, for 
the scene of action. His rapid approach, seen from the Castle of Che- 
pultepec, could have had none other than a dispiriting effect upon the 
enemy, who gave way before the determined valor of Worth's troops, 
just before the reinforcement reached the ground. Pillow's movement 
was approved by General Scott, who had sent an order to that effect 
some time before the battle was decided, which was not received until 
the command was near the village of Tacubaya, on its route. 

General Pillow was not seriously engaged on this day, although his 
troops held the field while Worth's were retiring under General Scott's 
orders ; and when the dead and wounded had been removed. Pillow, 
too, was ordered to withdraw, and the battle-field of Molino del Rey, 
so gallantly and so dearly won by the blood of 780 of the flower of the 
army, was given up to the enemy, if he chose to occupy it. The infor- 
maticjn given to General Scott on the previous evening had been veri- 
fied. The foundry had no existence, and the result, in so far as related 
to advantages gained for the final assault on the Mexican capital, were 
comparatively nothing. 

On the morning of the 9th of September, a strong body of lancers 
having threatened Colonel Riley's position at Nalvaite, General Pillow 



GIDEON J. PILLOW, OF TENNESSEE. 183 

changed his head-quarters to Picdad in advance of Nalvaite, which 
vilhige he occupied with Pierce's and Riley's brigades, bringing Cadwal- 
lader's forward from Mixcoac to Riley's forjner position. His pickets 
were thrt)\vn forward to the angle of the road of El Nino Perdido, to 
within close observing distance of the enemy, who was found to be 
busily engaged in constructing fortifications along the southern front. 
It was at once perceived that the time for attack at that point was the 
immediate moment, and information was sent to General Scott of the 
state of atfairs, and the unlinished condition of the fortifications ; but 
the general-in-chief did not contemplate an immediate assault, and gave 
strict order that no advance should be made from Piedad, although 
General Pillow was ordered to maintain his ground in case he was at- 
tacked ; and, in order to do so, was authorized to call up Twiggs' and 
Quitman's corps from San Angel and Cayacan. The Mexicans, how- 
ever, made no attack; and throughout the 9th, 10th and llth of Sep- 
tember, continued at work on their fortifications, which, on the morning 
of the llth, were nearly completed. On that day the general-in-chief 
came to Piedad, and, at the meeting of general officers, decided upon 
his plan of action, which was to assault, by the western front, the Castle 
of Chepultepec, being the first great point to be seized. Twiggs' divi- 
sion being left to make a demonstration on the lines of the south front, 
on the night of the llth, Generals Pillow and Quitman marched their 
divisions silently into Tacubaya, and took position, preparatory to seiz- 
ing covering points of the batteries about to be erected against the 
castle. Quitman was to take post on the south of Chepultepec, and 
Pillow on the west, on the plains and in Molino del Rey. 

General Pillow moved out to the plains while yet dark, and at the 
first dawn of light sent a picked corps down to Molino del Rey, which 
the enemy had no time to occupy. Having seized these points, his 
duty was that of covering the batteries, and throughout the twelfth his 
troops remained in observation of Chepultepec, and a cloud of Mexican 
cavalry which had taken post on his left flank. 

The effect of the batteries not being sufficiently great to cause the 
fall of the castle, it became evident that it must be stormed, and on the 
night of the 12th the orders for the assault were issued. 

On the morning of the 13th September, the American batteries re- 
opened heavily upon the castle — the Mexicans as promptly replied, 
and both parties were busily engaged in preparing for the strucjgle. 
Quitman's appnjaeh lay along the Tacubaya road, and over strong bat- 
teries at the base of the rock over which the castle is situated, over an 
exterior wall, and up the declivity to the work. Pillow's through Mo- 
lino del Rey, across an open field, over a line of ditches and entrench- 
ments, through the cypress grove to the base of the rock, over a redan 
half way up the declivity, which being passed, the troops would be in 
close vicinity to the object of attack, the castle of Chepultepec. The 
arrangements for this attack, which were made by General Pillow, 
were to attack the lines of entrenchments with one battali(;n of volti- 
geurs, while another proceeded outside the walls of the inclosure, which 
surrounded the rock and fields of the position, against an adobe bastion 
covering a cut in the wall, which being gained, the assaulting troops 
were in the rear of the line of entrenchments. If the line of entrench- 



184 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



ments was first carried, then the bastion would be taken in reverse by 
the troops which had been successful in that quarter. The first of these 
battalions was to be supported by the Ninth and Fifteenth regiments ; 
the second, by a storming party of veteran troops from Worth's division, 
by which Pillow had been reinforced. After the troops had entered 
the woods, it was intended they should be beat through to the base of 
the rock, the voltigeurs being in advance to that point. There they 
were to halt and re-form, while the stormers passed to the front, and, 
with the support of the three regiments, to ascend and storm the castle. 
To prevent the introduction of reinforcements by the road north of 
Chepultepec, as well as to watch the strong corps of Mexican cavalry 
on the left. Colonel Trousdale was stationed with the Eleventh and 
Fourteenth regiments at the angle of the Molino del Rey. 

Soon after 8 o'clock, the American batteries ceased iheir fire, and 
the assault commenced. Having ordered forward the party which was 
to advance outside the wall. Pillow proceeded through Molino del Rey, 
and sent the other through the gate into the field and against the en- 
trenchments. The enemy had got the range of the gate from Chepul- 
tepec, and kept up a heavy fire of shot and shell upon it ; but while the 
voltigeurs were pushing across the open field, the general stood watch- 
ing their progress until they reached the line of entrenchments, when 
he quickly ordered forward the ninth and fifteenth regiments. As, with 
a shout of enthusiasm, these corps rushed through the narrow way, Pil- 
low mounted, and, with his staff', passing rapidly to the front, took the 
advance. The Mexican troops fought w-ell in the woods, and the guns 
of the castle sent showers of grape and canister upon the assailants. 
Knowing the vital importance of success, and the necessity of the crisis, 
still in advance, the general of the division pressed on, his gallant troops 
followed and beat back the enemy to the base of the hill. Just before 
reaching it, Pillow fell severely and painfully wounded. But seeing 
the necessity for immediate attack, although the stormers, delayed by 
the difficulties of the ground, and not having been able in their close 
formation to keep pace with the light troops, had not yet taken the 
advance, he ordered the immediate assault; for the enemy were rally- 
ing in the redan, and commencing a heavy fire. The troops in position 
promptly and quickly obeyed, and the redan was carried. The volti- 
geurs, ninth and fifteenth crowned the hill, and taking post in the rocks, 
commenced making a rapid discharge of rifles and muskets against the 
defenders of the castle. The fall of Chepultepec was secured in this 
manner, for when the stormers and the ladders were brought forward, 
the enemy's fire had nearly ceased. Other troops had advanced in sup- 
port, taking post behind Pillow, but when the ladders were planted the 
troops of his division entered the work in advance, and pushing to the 
eastern division, secured not only its possession but the fall of the bat- 
teries on the Tacubaya road — for the Mexicans there held out until a 
party of voltigeurs and of the 15th regiment poured a volley into their 
rear; then they broke, and the American troops opposed to them en- 
tered the batteries, and the whole position was carried ; for, with the 
castle, fell not only the batteries on the south, but the barricades on the 
north, against which Colonel Trousdale's command had been bravely 
advancing. 



GIDEON J. PILLOW, OF TENNESSEE. 185 

The effect of this important capture was to secure the fall of the capi- 
tal of ISIexico, and to )aise the spirits of the American troops to the 
highest state of enthusiasm. All ielt that final success was certain, and 
as the commander, whose troops had been foremost in achieving tlie 
brilliant victory, was borne wounded into the works shortly after their 
occupation, the loud acclaiming shouts of the soldiers bore testimony 
to their appreciation of his conduct. 

For some three months after this achievement, General Pillow was 
confined to his quarters from the effect of his wound, and, meanwhile, 
various circumstances brought about a rupture, as annoying to all con- 
cerned as it was unfortunate for the American general-in-chief. The 
battles had been fought ; the great military operations of the army were 
finished, and the fame which would attach to the achievement, in the 
way of making political capital, and in promoting the claims of the 
general-in-chief to be the candidate of the whig party for the presi- 
dency, became at once the object of his serious attention. The worst 
feature of which, to be seen in the whole course of his operations, is the 
agreement to the convention of Tacubaya, by which every military ad- 
vantage was sacrificed to an uncertain political end. Generals Worth 
and Pillow had opposed this convention as it was agreed to, and it is 
somewhat remarkable that the general-in-chief took the first opportu- 
nity to quarrel with and arrest the two highest in rank in his army next 
to himself 

His exhibition of ill-humor against Pillow was demonstrated in rela- 
tion to two small guns, of which the latter knew absolutely nothing; 
but the remarks of the general-in-chief, made in his absence before a 
number of general and other officers, were so pointed and offensive, 
that Pillow felt constrained to call a court of inquiry. The court com- 
mitted an error of fact in its finding, and its opinion based on this error 
was therefore, in some respects, erroneous. Pillow called the attention 
of Scott to the error, and rec^uested that the case should be referred 
back to the court for re-consideration, but Scott refused, and on this re- 
fusal Pillow appealed to his government. His appeal, and the matter 
contained therein, was the ostensible ground of his arrest ; but the na- 
ture of the charges subsequently proved that it was but the pretext to 
cover his real motives. 

There had been received from the United States two published let- 
ters from the army in Mexico, in which Generals Pillow and Worth 
were spoken of in terms of high commendation. The knowledge that 
those letters had gone f )rth, so incensed General Scott, that he caused 
the issue of General Order, No. 349, in which these two officers were 
accused with puffing themselves, although at the time the general-in- 
chief had confessedly no proof upon which to base his unheard-of ap- 
peal to the lower ranks of the army to cast their contumely u|ion two 
generals whose lead the greater portion of the troops had often followed 
to victory. The issue of this order, by the manifestation of jealousy 
which was displayed, went far to show the fear lest these same tv/o 
officers should receive more credit than he in his arrogant pruriency of 
fame was disposed to allow, and in it may also be seen the conscious- 
ness that they were entitled to it. If not, why did he thrust forth an 



186 SKETCHES OF EMINtNT AMERICANS , 

order so injurious to discipline, and endeavour to falsify facts which 
were too well known to permit of undue credit being received by any? 

These facts were brought out in the investigation before the court of 
inquiry, but as yet a veil of mystery has concealed from the public why 
it was that General Pillow's opposition to the armistice should have 
brought about so bitter a controversy with General Scott, and so deeply 
involving his reputation. It was expected, during the progress of the 
investigation, that this mystery would have been explaiiied ; but Gen. 
Pillow, in his defence, confined the proof to the 2^oints at issue in the 
charges against him, leaving unexplained the secret motives of his accu- 
sers. 

As, however, the necessity of that silence has ceased to exist, and as 
the disclosure is necessary to the truth of history, and to a proper ap- 
preciation of the self sacrificing devotion with which he endured the ob- 
loquy heaped upon him, and the firmness with which he stood by the 
safety of the army (which he, in fact, commanded) and the honor of the 
country ; while, at the same time, this disclosure will do honor to the 
memory of a great statesman who then directed the afl^airs of the na- 
tion, it now becomes proper that the veil of mystery should be with- 
drawn, and the facts become matter for history. 

In 1847 President Polk appointed N. P. Trist a commissioner to ac- 
company the army, with authority to treat for peace should an oppor- 
tunity present itself On Mr. Trist's departure for Mexico, the President 
forwarded to Gen. Pillow a commission as major-general in the army, 
and with it a private and coiifidential letter, informing him of Mr. 
Trist's appointment, of his instructions, and of his (Mr. Polk's) directions 
to Mr. Trist to lay his instructions before him, (General Pillow,) — to 
consult him fully and freely ; and added, that he should feel better satis- 
fied to know that the honor of his administration and the interest of the 
country were guarded by his judgment and prudence, and that he (Mr. 
Pulk) relied upon his (Pillow's) friendship to see that neither was com- 
promised. 

This letter placed General Pillow in secret semi-official relations with 
Mr. Trist. It is also evident from it that Mr. Polk did not have full 
confidence in Mr. Trist. To have been thus placed in a position, in 
which he had, in a great degree, the responsibility of the negotiation, 
without the power to control the result, was a most embarrassing situ- 
ation, while the confidential manner in which the duty was imposed 
greatly increased the difficulty. 

This statement of facts is necessary to a proper understanding of what 
took place afterwards. The letter referred to is still in existence, and 
in possession of Gen. Pillow. 

In a few days after Gen. Pillow arrived in Puebla, (in the latter part 
of July, 1847,) where he first met with Mr. Trist, and received this let- 
ter of President Polk. He was sent for by Mr. Trist, and requested to 
visit his quarters. Upon his arrival he found Gen. Scott and Mr. Trist, 
and was told by Mr. Trist, that, in compliance with the instructions of 
the President, he invited him to a conference with himself and General 
Scott, who then had under consultation the reply of Santa Anna, through 
Mr. Mchitosh, the British consul, to a communication of his, (Mr. 



GIDEON J. PILLOW, OK TENNESSEE. 1S7 

Trist's,) informing Santa Anna that liu was with the army, with authority 
to treat for peace. 

General Seott, assuming the lead in the conversation, said, that Santa 
Anna said he could do nothing without money ; that he must have 
S 10,000 paid in advance, and one million more when the treaty should 
be agreed upon. He further said that Mr. Trist did not have the mo- 
ney, but that he could pay the SIO.OOO out of the secret service fund 
in his hands, and that he could raise the balance, and that they both de- 
sired to know what he thought best to be done under all the circum- 
stances. 

Gen. Pillow asked Mr. Trist if there was any law authorizing such 
an expenditure, or if he had the authority of the President to make such 
use of the public money 1 To which he replied in the negative. General 
Pillow then said he thought it was wrong in itself to purchase a peace 
by bribing the commanding general of the enemy's forces ; that it would 
be disgraceful to the army and the government, and that he was op- 
posed to it. 

General Scott promptly remarked — " Perhaps, General Pillow, you 
have not reflected upon the subject ?" He said it was not wrong in it- 
self; because the fact that Santa Anna was found in the market offer- 
ing to receive a bribe, was evidence that he was already corrupted ; 
that it was not disreputable to the army or to the government, for it was 
a means resorted to by all governments to effect their purposes, and 
that it was a usage recognized by our own government, and mentioned 
several instances in which it had used money to effect its purposes. 
Among others, he instanced the Maine boundary question, in which, he 
said, the government had expended 8500,000 to silence the Maine press ; 
also the practice of our government in making presents to the Barbary 
powers and the chiefs of Indian tribes (which were nothing but bribes) 
as the means of procuring treaties with them. He further said the great 
want of our government and people was peace ; that if the army- 
marched to Mexico and took the city, we should disperse the govern- 
ment, and with it all hopes of peace, and that the war might be pro- 
tracted indefinitely, and that it might cost the government one hundred 
millions of dollars and the lives of many brave men. Gen. Pillow, 
having great respect for the opinions of Gen. Scott, and not doubting 
the correctness of the facts stated by Gen. Scott as to the usage of the 
government, then asked him, how he could settle so large a sum with 
the accounting offices at Washington 1 How could he get a legal 
voucher for such an item as he proposed to pay 1 Gen. Scott promptly 
replied, that he would have the money paid over to Mr. Trist, and take 
his receipt, and have the amount charged to the contingent expenses of 
the war. Gen. Pillow supposed a committee of Congress should be ap- 
pointed to investigate the accounts, and asked him how would he then 
manage it? Gen. Scott said, the committee would report upon the pro- 
priety of the expenditure, and not the item itself. By these views, 
which were entirely new to Gen. Pillow, he was led to doubt the cor- 
rectness of the opinions first expressed, and said, that perhaps it was his 
duty not to stand in the way, and that he should therefore waive his ob- 
jections. The conference here broke up. On the second day afterwards, 



It's BKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Capt. Williams, an officer of Gen. Scott's staff, visited General Pillow's 
quarters, and told him that General Scott desired him to visit his quar- 
ters that night at eight o'clock. 

At the appointed hour. General Pillow went to General Scott's quar- 
ters, where he found General Scott and a number of his general officers 
seated around his table in the centre of the room. When the other 
general officers invited to the meeting had arrived, General Scott said, 
he had summoned them to consult them about a matter involving the 
question of peace or a continuance of the war. 

Without any reference to the private conference which they had had 
two days before at Mr. Trist's quarters, General Scott went substan- 
tially over the same ground he had done at the private conference ; 
made the same arguments, apparently in anticipation of the very objec- 
tions which General Pillow had made, and met them by the same views 
and statements, as to the usage of nations and of our own government, 
which he had done at the private conference, and concluded by saying, 
that he wanted their opinions — wanted the advice of theoffi.cers present 
as to what was best to be done. Pie then said to General Pillow, be- 
ing the ranking officer present, " Let us have your opinion first." Pillow 
replied, that he supposed it was choosing the least of evils to agree to 
Santa Anna's terms. He then called for General Quitman's opinion, 
who replied that he was opposed to it; for Gen. Twiggs', who said he 
thought it was a political question, and that he was no politician ; for 
Gen. Shields', who expressed himself strongly opposed to it; and for 
General Cadwallader's, who laughed, and said he thought the question 
was decided. 

Generals Worth, Pierce, and Smith, were not present. Gen. Scott 
then said, he was satisfied that he was right in acceding to Santa Anna's 
terms; that he had paid the $10,000, and would pay the balance when 
peace was made, and that he would take the whole responsibility upon 
himself. He further said, that the meeting was a confidential one upon 
official business and he deemed it unnessessary to say it would be so 
considered by those present. The meeting was then dismissed. 

Having been much surprised that the fads of the negotiation (hereto- 
fore deemed strictly confidential between the parties to the private con- 
ference) were thus placed before the meeting of general officers, and 
would thus go before the public, and never having been satisfied with 
the correctness of the conclusion to which he had come at the private 
conference, Gen. Pillow went that night to Mr. Trist's quarters, but 
found his door closed, so that he could not see him. He went again 
next morning, and found Mr. Trist in bed; told him everything General 
Scott had done the night before at the meeting of general officers ; said 
to Mr. Trist that he knew he (Pillow) had been originally opposed to the 
whole matter ; that he had never been satisfied with the conclusions to 
M'hich he had come in agreeing to waive his objections ; that he had 
erred in so doing, and that he had come to him for the purpose of put- 
ting himself right ; that he then protested against the whole matter, and 
would avail himself of the first opportunity of informing the President 
of the whole transaction. 

Mr. Trist thereupon said, he himself had never been entirely satis- 



GIDEON J. PILLOW, OF TENNESSEE. ISO 

fied, and that he then believed that he (Gen. Pillow) wus right, hut tliut 
General Scott had actually paid (he ten thousand dollars, and \vasco»;- 
mitlcd. General Pilk)\v then asked Mr. Trist if theiv was no point of 
disagreement between Santa Anna nnd Gen. Scott. After a moment's 
reflection, he said yes; that. Santa Anna required that, after lighting a 
battle, Genei'al Scott should send a flag of truce, and grant an armistice 
to treat for peace, but that Gen. Scott thought, that if he fought the 
battle and won it, that Santa Anna should take the initiative, and send 
the flair; but that as (tcu. Scott had sent the ten thousand dollars, he 
supposed he had waived that point. Gen. Pillow replied, that that point 
being open, he would see Gen. Scott, and try to get him to break off the 
agreement, and put an end to the negotiation. Accordingly, he went 
directly to (jeneral Scott's quarters, saw him, had a long and animated 
conversation with him, protesting against the whole matter, and urged 
General Scott to relieve himself from his committal. 

Gen. Scott at length said, that Gen. Pillow was right, thanked him 
for the manly manner in which he had expressed himself, and told him 
to return to his quarters that night, and that he would show him the 
letter he would write to relieve himself. Gen. Pillow did return, as di- 
rected — saw the letter — thought it altogether equivocal in its meaning, 
but was satisfied with it, conceiving it to be well calculated to relieve 
him froni a false position. 

After the army had marched from Pnebla, Mr. Trist and Gen. Scott 
became remarkably intimate and friendly. They moved, messed and 
lived together. General Pillow was never afterwards admitted to any 
private conference. He was never again consulted by either of them 
during the negotiations which followed the armistice, and that they both 
determined upon a rupture with him, and upon his disgrace and the de- 
structi(Mi of his character, in consequence of his opposition to the secret 
negotiation at Puebla, and to the armistice, and the belief that he had 
or would communicate this information to the President, and that this 
was the secret motive which actuated both, is proven beyond all doubt, 
by the/(/c^6' elicited in that investigation, and the secret relation which 
is shown to have e.xisted between Gen. Pillow and Mr. Trist. 

In the mean time the President had recalled Mr. Trist, and as he be- 
lieved under Pillow's information of the Puebla negotiation. An ad- 
ditional motive actuating both, is to be seen in the fact, that they both 
were exasperated against Mr. Polk ; Gen. Scott, for the severe rebuke 
he had received from the President, for his insubordination, as shown in 
'■ the hasty plate of soup" letter — Mr. Trist, for his recall. They both 
knew the confidential relations which existed between the President and 
General Pillow — and that the President would keenly feel the disgrace, 
of his confidential and bosom friend; and they intended that the stab 



should reach the heart both of the President and their intended victim. 
It is thus made manifest that what appeared to the public to be 
a personal difficulty and private quarrel between Generals Scott and 
Pillow, was in fact, a controversy relating exclusively to pul)lic matters 
of deep and vital interest to the honor of the country and well-being 
of the army, and that all the obloquy so long borne by Pillow in si- 
lence was in fact for the firm and fearless discharge of public duty 
imposed upon him by the President. 



100 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



A conspiracy to destroy an innocent man, more powerful in the means 
used, and more corrupt in the secret malice of those actuated, is without 
a parallel in this age or country. 

The charges which were preferred against General Pillow were volu- 
minous, and of the most scandalous character. Not only was he charged 
with various misdemeanors, but in regard to his military conduct, Gen. 
Scott endeavored to falsify his own oflicial approbations, which had been 
given with a full knowledge of the facts, and which, when he made 
them, he strove to represent as having been elicited by the gallantry of 
his lieutenant, under his own observation. Amongst other allegations, 
Pillow was charged with having been in favor of the armistice, before it 
was entered into, and the whole tenor of the document against him was 
of so argumentative a nature, that, in the words of Mr. Trist, (in rela- 
tion to one of General Scott's letters.) whose bitter malignity against 
Pillow, since the failure of his mad scheme of negotiations, proved how 
much he had to do with fomenting the discord, it was more fitted " to 
adorn the columns of some reckless partisan press," than to have place 
among the military archives of the country. In a word, it bore ample 
internal evidence that it was never intended for trial ; but in the hope 
that it would be thrust aside at Washington, Gen. Scott intended that 
it should remain unanswered by his victim, who must sink under the 
weight of the charges, and of the character of the accuser; a belief fully 
verified by the attempt which the general-in-chief made to shrink from 
the position of prosecutor, until Pillow, conscious of his innocence, 
called upon the court to compel him to prosecute, and to sustain, if he 
could, the truth of his calumnious allegations. 

The proceedings of that famous court are too fresh in the memory of 
the American people to require much comment. But every charge was 
met and disproved ; and when the court closed its sittings, the fame of 
Gen. Pillow was clear of reproach. Even the vile slanders of the party 
presses were silenced, and the facts of the case brought out by the 
sworn testimony of witnesses of all ranks, were high in his favor. The 
charges at once fell to the ground ; and as the war closed, Gen. Pillow 
retired from the service to private life. 

" Gen. Pillow is now in the prime of manhood, being less than fifty 
years of age. He is descended from as gallant an ancestry as ever con- 
tributed, by their energy and enterprise, to subdue the obstacles incident 
to pioneer life, and by their valor and patriotism to chastise the savage 
tribes for their merciless butcheries of our border settlers. From an 
ancestry famous in the early history of our state for their bold and 
daring intrepidity in defending our weak and scattered settlements, and 
ill avenging their wrongs with promptitude and success. Gen. Pillow 
has inherited some of these characteristics which have marked his whole 
history. Until he entered upon his duties as a brigadier-general in the 
late war, he had never sought or filled any public civil station. He was lit- 
erally taken from the walks of private life, and transferred to a highly 
honorable military position. But it must be borne in mind that he 
received his commission from a president who knew him personally, 
and was intimately acquainted with his peculiar traits of charactei. 
These peculiar traits pointed him out to the President as possessing 
high qualifications as a military commander. 



GinEOK J. PILLOW. OF TENNESSEE. 191 

'■ In the prosecution of his private pursuits, General Pillow had dis- 
played a quickness of conception, a promptness of execution, an energy 
in action, and a success in results, which are observed in the business 
transactions of few men. His mind operated with uncommon rapidity, 
and he reached his conclusions almost at a glance, and in the next mo- 
ment he was ready for action. No matter how important or compli- 
cated the transaction or enterprise, he saw it in all its bearings at one 
view, and, as if by intuition, made up his mind as to his course, and 
then sullered no obstacle to check his energy, and no doubt ever to 
cloud his success. He combined, in an unusual manner, the capacity 
to devise with that to execute. Hence he was eminently successful as 
a practitioner of law, and not less so in the various important enter- 
prises connected with his private affiiirs. In all these, his character 
for promptness, industry, energy, and perseverance, was fully estab- 
lished. 

" General Pillow had enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education, 
and therefore entered upon his career with a well-trained and cultivated 
mind. His intellect was naturally of a very high order, and its cul- 
ture had well fitted him for attaining to distinction in any one of the 
learned professions. From the time that he first appeared at the 
bar with his license, he entered upon a most extensive and laborious 
business. As a speaker, he soon took a prominent position in his pro- 
fession. He reasoned with clearness and force, whilst his knowledge of 
human nature taught him how to appeal to the passions, and his powers 
of declamation enabled him to combine in his oratory every available 
species of appeal in the management of his causes. There were others 
more profoundly learned in the law as a science, but there were 
none who adhered more closely to the interests of their clients, or who 
would bring more resources into play in the management of their 
cases. 

"From this brief viev,' of the peculiar traits in the character of Gen. 
Pillow, we can readily understand why Mr. Polk conferred upon him 
a high military command. The President appointed him upon his own 
knowledge of his qualifications ; and though others v/ere incredulous 
because they were unacquainted with the real character of General Pil- 
low, Mr. Pulk never doubted that the appointment would turn out to 
be highly satisfactory to the country." 

It is said in the foregoing sketch that General Pillow had never 
sought or filled any civil station in public life previous to his ap- 
pointment as brigadier-general by President Polk. This is true ; 
but it is also true that for many years he had been repeatedly 
urged by his democratic friends to accept political honors at their 
hands. These solicitations were uniformly declined by him, and 
yet no member of the democratic party was more ardent in 
iiis devotion to its doctrines and its success, and none was more 
prompt and enthusiastic in sustaining its candidates. He was an en- 
thusiastic adniirer of General Jackson, and gave to his administration 
a zealous and uniform support. Being a neighbor of James K. Polk, 
and a v/arm political as well as personal friend, their associations were 
intimate, and their agreement on political questions cordial. As a 



192 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

member of the Baltimore Convention in 1844, he exerted a decided in- 
fluence in bringing its deliberations to a harmonious close. 

In the canvass which followed, General Pillow took an active and 
efficient part. He was a confidential adviser of Mr. Polk, as well as an 
able and eloquent advocate of" his election. Since the close of the 
Mexican war, General Pillow's name has been earnestly brought forward 
for Congress, and for Governor of Tennessee; but he has promptly de- 
clined the honors thus tendered to him, preferring the harmony and 
success of the democratic party to his own personal promotion. 

in the all-absorbing question which has divided the North and South 
for the last few years, General Pillow has taken a deep interest. His 
feelings and sympathies have been, and still are, strongly with the South ; 
he has looked upon political abolitionism and free-soilistn as an unjustifi- 
able and dangerous interference with the constitutional rights of southern 
men. In disposing of the question of slavery as connected with our 
acquisition of territory from Mexico, he believed that the extension of 
the Missouri compromise line to the Pacific would contribute the most 
equitable and satisfactory adjustment. The preservation of the National 
Union, however, upon its original terms, and with its constitutional 
guarantees, was at all times a paramount object with him, and hence he 
uniformly condemned every proposition which looked to disunion as a 
remedy for the evils of the South. The sacred right of revolution he 
was willing to resort to only in the last extremity, and when the oppres- 
sions .of a dominant majority should become intolerable. Whilst he 
has not regarded the compromise measures as doing justice to the 
South, he has looked upon them as the result of a compact in which the 
South as well as the North was bound in honor to acquiesce, and hence 
he has maintained that both parties to the covenant should be held to the 
high obligations growing out of the adjustment. In this light, he has 
cheerfully acquiesced in the ■compromise, as a final settlement of the 
slavery issue, and stands earnestly opposed to its disturbance either 
at the iSTorth or the South. These were the views expressed by General 
Pillow in the Southern Convention, in wdiich he dissented from the 
action of a majority of that body. 

It is impossible to fully comprehend and appreciate the true character 
of General Pillow, without examining the peculiar obstacles which he 
had to encounter and overcome. His appointment as a biigadier- 
general was seized upon by the whig press throughout the country 
as the basis of a most violent and unsparing assault upon the Presi- 
dent. This was followed up with foithful severity by the v/liole brood 
of little politicians, who caught up and repeated, with untiring industry, 
the malignant calumnies and aspersions originating with unprincipled 
partisansfor mere party purposes. He was assailed with abuse, de- 
nunciation and ridicule, to such an extent, that, long before he had met 
the enemy, the public judgment seemed to be made up against him. 
Few men could have bore up under the crushing weight of this com- 
bined partisan warfare. It was continued with unmitigated ferocity 
whilst General Pillow was performing deeds of heroic daring on hard- 
fought battle-fields, which would have done honor to the most distin- 
guished captains of this or any other age. No matter how bravely or 



GIDEON J. PILLOW, OF TENNESSEE. ] 93 

skilfully he led his command — no matter with how much daring he 
char<Ted the impregnable breastworks of the enemy — no matter if his 
plans were skilfully conceived and successfully executed — no matter if 
he bared his bosom in the thickest of the tight, and poured out his 
blood again and again — yet the insatiate harpies of party abated noth- 
ing of the violence and malignity of their assaults. As he pushed for- 
ward with unceasing energy towards the capital of Mexico, and aided 
in winuiug victory after victory, his enemies at home redoubled their 
exertions, and sought to overwhelm his name with a cloud of odium 
and obloquy which could never be dispelled by his achievements, no 
matter with what splendor they might shine. His reputation seemed 
at one time to be effectually damned, even beyond the reach of defence 
by his political friends. This was especially the case when General 
Scott joined the conspiracy, and undertook to strangle his victim by 
bringing to bear upon him the full weight of his exalted name and sta- 
tion. Abused, slandered, ridiculed and vilified at home by the united 
strength of the whig party, General Scott undertook to complete the 
woik of defamation and destruction by a conspiracy in Mexico as foul 
as that which existed at home. How he was ever to escape irretriev- 
able ruin, under such circumstances, his best friends could not see. Yet, 
amidst the thickest gloom which hung over him, General Pillow en- 
treated his friends not to doubt, much less to despair, of his final 
triumph. He announced to them that he was the victim of a most 
malignant conspiracy, but that when the facts were developed his vindi- 
cation would be complete, and that his countrymen would du him justice. 
The blow which was aimed by General Scott, and which was intended 
to be the finishing stroke, was seized upon by General Pillow as the 
means of securing his triumphant vindication. Alost men would have 
sunk under the power which General Scott brought to bear upon 
his victim ; but General Pillow met the assault with fearlessness and 
confidence, and resolved not only to vindicate himself but to overwhelm 
his enemies with disgrace. The result of that celebrated trial is fresh 
in the recollection of every American citizen. It has forever silenced 
and put to shame his malignant revilers, whilst it has covered his ene- 
mies who had conspired against him with damning disgrace. It has 
brought prominently before the country the extent and value of his 
military services; and, in that way, the public mind has been disabused, 
and the public judgment has been made up. General Pillow managed 
and directed his own vindication ; and we fearlessly assert, that none 
but a man of the most exalted talents, and of the most remarkable traits 
of character, could have successfully grappled with such overwhelming 
odds, and made his prosecutors bite the very dust in which they sought 
to prostrate him. 

Whoever looks carefully into the details of the military operations 
which won the splendid victories ofContreras, Churubusco, and Che- 
pultcpec, will find unmistakable evidences of military sagacity in the* 
suggestions and plans of Gen. Pillow, which contributed in an eminent 
degree to the achievement of the brilliant results ; he will also find that 
these results might have been reached with a much less sacrifice of pre- 
cious blood, if General Scott had followed the counsels and suggestions 
of General Pillow more closely. This remark is especially applicable 

13 



194 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

to the disastrous blunder committed by General Scott in not following 
up his advantages after the victory of Churubusco, and in disregarding 
the counsels of Pillow and Worth, and agreeing to an armistice. 
Against the earnest and repeated advice of General Pillow the armistice 
was agreed upon ; and every advantage won at the cost of tiie lives of 
a thousand brave men at Contreras and Churubusco, was given up, and 
the enemy allowed time to collect his routed forces and to erect formi- 
dable fortifications. After two weeks of fruitless negotiations, the 
error became palpable when General Scott found himself compelled to 
re-fight the battle, with numbers reduced, and in the face of fortifications 
which had been strengthened and constructed during the armistice. 

The victory of Chepultepec secured the fall of the Mexican capital, 
and crowned the campaign with a halo of glory which will shine with 
undiminished brightness in all time to come. General Pillow's 
chivalrous conduct in that splendid achievement won for him the title 
of the Hero of Chepultepec — the justice of which title was fully ac- 
knowledged by the loud acclaiming shouts of the soldiers, as their com- 
mander was borne wounded into the work, soon after its occupation 
by his brave troops. 

In this brief sketch it has not been our purpose to do more than barely 
allude to the various occasions in which General Pillow signalized him- 
self as a military commander. Full justice to the subject is the more 
immediate province of the historian. The incidents of the brilliant 
march of our gallant army from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico, and 
the prominent part borne by him in the several splendid achievements 
of that march, are too fresh in the minds of an admiring country to re- 
quire any reference to them in detail. We may remark, however, that 
as a military commander he exhibited the same prominent traits of 
character which we have referred to as having marked his private career. 
Fearless of danger, his conduct on some occasions bordered on rashness 
— but it was rashness in exposing his own person in leading in the situ- 
ation where officers of his grade seldom lead. Notwithstanding the 
extraordinary efforts which were made to depreciate his services, the 
judgment of all impartial military men has pronounced his approval, 
and assigned to him a position alongside of the most skilful and success- 
ful heroes of the nation. 




^^^VH.S.SaA^ 



IHLO:^o AliCMIBAILlD) IDIXOI^ 



OF HENJyERSON, JKENTUCJrr. 



■•aorap}tXcai S^vtr}iis o^ ]Djnia-:.rit .^Tfuiricofi. ta.v/vers . 



HON. ARCHIBALD DIXON, 

OF KENTUCKY. 

To write the biography of a living man is a task of difficulty and deli • 
cacy. To speak well of him would be deemed adulation by his ene- 
mies ; and to speak ill of him, no better than murder by his friends. 
In the following we shall endeavor to speak the truth, yet we will not 
deny that our prepossessions are in favor of our subject ; and must can- 
didly admit that if we had esteemed it our duty to condemn more than 
to praise, we should have left the work to other hands. As it is brief, 
it may not be tedious; and as it is the life of one whose name has not 
yet been associated with national affairs, it may excite curiosity. 

Archibald Dixon, of Kentucky, was born on the 2d of April, 1802, 
in the county of Caswell, North Carolina. His grandfather, Henry 
Dixon, was a colonel in the Revolutionary army ; and at the battle of 
Eutaw Springs received a wound from a cannot shot, which carried 
away a great part of one side of his face, and of which he after- 
wards died. 

Wynn Dixon, the son of Henry Dixon, and the father of the subject 
of this memoir, entered the army at the age of sixteen, as an ensign; 
and for his gallant conduct and soldier-like bearing in the battles of 
Camden, Eutaw, and Guilford Court-house, was promoted to the rank 
of lieutenant, and served during the war. 

^Ir. Dixon's mother was the daughter of David Hart, of North Caro- 
lina, and the niece of Colonel Thomas Hart, of Lexington, Kentucky, 
whose daughter is the wife of the Hon. Henry Clay. Wynn Dixon 
emigrated to Henderson county, Kentucky, with his son, Archibald, in 
the year 1805, where he continued to reside until his death. He had 
once been wealthy, but in an unfortunate bour, becoming surety for 
his friend, he was reduced from affluence to indigence ; and he was un- 
able to do more for his son than to afford him a plain English educa- 
tion, such as was to be obtained in the neighborhood county schools. 
But it is not in the power of circumstances to depress the energies of a 
man who is determined to rise. Poverty and misfortune may delay, 
but cannot prevent his ultimate success. 

Mr. Dixon made good use of the few opportunities at his command; 
and, though without that intellectual cultivation which is rarely to be 
acquired except within college walls, and -which seems absolutely neces- 
sary with ordinary minds to smooth the pathway to professional 
eminence, at the early age of twenty entered upon the study of the 
law. 

His preceptor was Mr. James Hillyer, a gentleman of good legal 
attainments, and who possessed many excellent and noble qualities. 
With the use of a good library, and an occasional hint from Mr. Hill- 
yer, Mr. Dixon made rapid progress in his studies. His whole heart 
was in the work. His days and nights were devoted to the prosecution 
of a science which, to a beginner, seems to be made up of recondite 



196 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

principles and dry details. Pleasure was forgotten, amusement was 
disregarded. He had no time to loiter by the way. He was not only 
inspired by ambition, but urged by poverty. He worked not for fame 
only, but for bread. 

At the age of twenty-two he had made sufficient progress in his 
studies to justify his admission to the bar. Immediately on obtaining 
his license, he entered upon the practice of his profession. At this 
period the "state of his finances" was low indeed. He wanted even 
the means to purchase a suit of clothes to appear in a decent garb 
among his fellow-members at the bar. This, however, was the last 
mortification of a pecuniary kind to which he was subjected. His 
acknowledged talents, energy, and business habits, soon placed him be- 
yond the reach of want. His business rapidly increased. In a short 
time his reputation as a sound lawyer and eloquent advocate was estab- 
lished, and he had the satisfaction to find himself employed in all the 
most important cases on the circuit. 

In the western states the connection between law and politics is so in- 
timate, that it is next to impossible for a lawyer who possesses a talent 
for public speaking, to avoid participating in the exciting discussions of 
the day. 

If his own ambition does not impel him to take the lead, the impor- 
tunities of his personal and political friends will force him into a 
prominent position. Accordingly, we find Mr. Dixon, in the summer 
of 1830, called upon by his fellow-citizens of the county of Henderson, 
to represent them in the popular branch of the legislature. His course, 
during the session which he served, was marked by his usual industry 
and talent. Among other ref(M-nis which he advocated, was a bill for 
the better protection of the rights of married women, which, though un- 
successful at the time, has since been adopted in its most important 
features, and become one of the most popular laws of the state. From 
this time until 1836 he devoted himself exclusively to the pracrice of 
his profession, which had now become not only extensive but lucrative. 
The reward of his early toils and resolute self-denial, when both neces- 
sity and ambition impelled him to "shun delights and live laborious 
days" was in his hands. He had obtained what my Lord Bacon calls 
the "vantage ground of jurisprudence." It was not his place now to 
wait for clients, but rather for clients to wait for him. 

In 1836, Mr. Dixon was elected to represent the counties of Hender- 
son, Hopkins and Daviess, in the senate. In 1841, he was again elected 
to the legislature from the county of Henderj«3n, without opposition. 
In 1843, he was nominated by the whig convention of Kentucky for the 
office of lieutenant-governor, on the same ticket with Mr. Ousley, and 
was not only elected over his competitor by a triumphant majority, but 
far outran the gubernatorial candidate. During the canvass, his advocacy, 
of the principles and measures of the whig party was unusually abie,'^ 
particularly his defence of our domestic manufactures. The protective 
policy has never been so popular in the southern states as in the more 
densely populated districts of the North, where labor is cheap and 
capital is abundant. 

The interests of the people are not bound up in its success. Their 
means are not invested in manufactures but in agriculture, and it is a 



ARCHIBALD DIXON, OF KENTUCKr. 197 

task of some difficulty to convince them that a measure which apparently 
takes money out of their pockets can be just or expedient. Mr. Dixon, 
nevertheless, made the features of the American system occupy the most 
important place in his discussions, and the manner in which he treated 
the subject was so able, and his arguments so convincing, that he obtained 
the greatest applause from all quarters except the ranks of the opposi- 
tion ; and we think ourselves justifiable in saying, that he succeeded in 
establishing this most important policy upon a much more secure and 
permanent basis than it had hitherto occupied in Kentucky. During 
the next four years, he was ex-officio President of the Senate, and in the 
difficult and often perplexing duties of his position he had the pleasure 
of giving universal satisfaction to both parties. Ever present at his 
post, the promptitude of his decisions was only equaled by their in- 
flexible justice. In 1848 he was preferred by a majority of the whig 
party for the office of governor, and but for the unyielding opposition 
of the friends of the opposing candidates, would have received the no- 
mination at the hands of the convention. Being satisfied that the ex- 
citement of feeling, which existed in the two sections of the party, 
would materially impair its efficiency in the approaching gubernatorial 
and presidential contests, he did not hesitate to sacrifice his per- 
sonal ambition to the good of the whig cause; and Mr. Crittenden 
being placed in nomination, he instructed his friends to withdraw his 
name. The year 1849 was a period of great political excitement 
throughout the state. A constitutional convention w-as about to 
assemble for the reformation of the organic law, and many new and 
highly important questions were presented to the consideration 
of the people. Among these, not the least interesting, was a 
proposition for the gradual emancipation of the slave population. 
This measure was advocated by several highly distinguished persons, 
and though there was scarcely a probability of its immediate success, 
yet the mere agitation of the question was deemed by Mr. Dixon im- 
politic and dangerous. The shock which it might give to the stability 
and security of sixty millions of property would, in his opinion, more 
than counterbalance any remote and doubtful advantage which could 
possibly accrue from the discussion of so delicate a subject. He ac- 
cordingly opposed and denounced it with all the energy and vehemence 
of his nature. Being chosen, without opposition, a member of the con- 
vention, he brought forward the following resolution, which he sustain- 
ed with marked ability, and which, in substance, was finally incorpo- 
rated into the constitution. " Whereas, the right of the citizen to be 
secure in his person and property is not only guaranteed by all free 
governments, but lies at the very foundation of them ; and, whereas, 
the powers derived to this convention, immediately and collectively, 
are distinctly from the people ; and, although not expressed, are im- 
plied, and that among them is the power so to change the existing consti- 
tution of the state as to afford a more ample protection to the civil 
and religious rights of the citizen, but not to destroy them ; and, where- 
as, the slaves of citizens of this commonwealth are property, both those 
that are now in esse, and those hereafter born of mothers who may be 
slaves at the time of such birth, therefore, 

" Resolved, That this Convention has not the power, or right, b) any 



198 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

principle it may incorporate into the constitution of the state, to de- 
prive the citizen of his property without his consent, unless it be for 
the public good, and only then by making to him a just compensation 
therefor." 

As a specimen of the style of Mr, Dixon, we insert the following 
extract from the speech which he delivered when the above resolution 
was brought up for discussion : 

" But my friend from Nelson maintains another proposition, and I 
intend to call attention to it now. Yes, it is a strange proposition, and 
that is, that all the right we have to our slave population is derived 
from the constitution and laws of the stale. If the gentleman would 
Ijut look back to the history of the acquisition of titles to slave proper- 
ty, he would find there a refutation of his whole position. How did we 
originally acquire any title to slave property in this country? If he 
will look back as far as 1620, he will find that the very first slaves 
were brought to Virginia, in that year, in a Dutch vessel. If he will 
look back not quite so far, he will find that charters were granted by 
Queen Elizabeth to certain companies, empowering them to go to 
Africa and possess themselves of slaves, and bring them to the 
then colonies of North America. He will find that they were 
permitted to go, and that many went without any permission at all. 
Well ; when they went there, what did they do? They acquired the 
property ; they captured or purchased the negroes; they exercise(5 their 
manual strength and labor in acquiring the possession of that property ; 
they became owners by occupation, or by purchase — a way of acquir- 
ing property that gentleman will readily understand. I say they be- 
came owners by occupation, as those gentlemen who have gone to 
California to dig gold. 

" There being no law to protect it, they became entitled to the gold 
from the very fact that they exercise manual labor to separate it from 
that earth in which it has been long imbedded. Law does not provide 
the right to the gold, and it does not provide the right to capture and 
appropriate the slave. They had the gold without any law, and they 
have now called a convention of gold-diggers and miners, and for what 
purpose 1 To give them title to the gold 1 Not at all ; they have that 
right now, but it is to give protection to those rights which they have 
acquired by occupancy. That is the object and design. To give them 
rights'? Not at all; but the protection of the rights which now exist. 
Let us take this matter a little farther. I believe that when Kentucky 
separated from Virginia, — or to go farther, that before any constitution 
was formed in the United States, the peopleof Virginia had their slaves, 
and that they had a right to them. And when the act of separation 
was passed on the part of Virginia allowing Kentucky to become a 
separate state — when she separated herself and threw herself back on 
first principles, and declared her sovereignty in the act of establishing 
organic law, her citizens then had this right of property in slaves. 
Those rights of property, therefore, were not derived from the laws of 
Virginia, or from the constitution of 1792 or 1799 ; they existed prior 
to, and independent of, those laws. They existed because they were 
rights clearly acquired from those who first acquired the slaves, and 
which had come down to their descendants by descent, or which had 



i 



ARCHIBALD DIXON, OF KENTCCKV. 1(]0 

been transferred by purchase. Thus were these rights existing prior to 
the adoption of any organic hiw, But at this particular period of time, 
when all things are thrown back to their original elements, and all per- 
mitted to express their opinions and views on all and every question, a 
strange proposition is springing up in the midst of our excited country- 
men. What is it 1 One says to another, you have no right to all that 
land of youi's ; and another, you have no right to your negroes ; and 
another, you have no right to your strong box. It is a strange proposi- 
tion springing up right here in this community. What will be the re- 
sult of it ? 

" Mr. C. A. WicLiFFE. — Does the gentleman mean to say that I ad- 
vocate such a doctrine on this floor? If so, he is mistaken." 

" Mr. Dixon. — I mean that such is the effect of the gentleman's pro- 
position. I say that it is the true consequence of the doctrine advanced, 
that all power belongs to this convention, and that no right exists 
independent of the organic law it may make, or the statute laws which 
may be passed under it. I say, then, let us go back to the state of 
society I have mentioned to the gentleman. Let the proposition be 
made and proclaimed to the people of Kentucky, thac prior to the 
adoption of their constitution the right to property does not exist, and 
what would be the condition of every member of society ? The very 
assumption of the principle would be looked upon as a violation of 
every principle of right which lies at the foundation of every free gov- 
ernment. 

" Well, our title to our slaves is not derived from Virginia, or from 
the constitution or statute laws of Kentucky, but it is derived in the 
manner which I have represented. We come, then, to the formation of 
our present constitution. What shall we do here] We intend to 
unite in framing a constitution that will protect, not destroy ; to build 
up, and not to pull down; to throw the aigis of our protection around 
the .rights of the citizen, and not to put in the hands of the incendiary a 
torch to consume or a sw(jrd to destroy and murder. This convention 
has no such power. And if such a power can exist, if it is to be pro- 
claimed here that fifty-one men in this convention have the right to seize 
on the property, should they see proper to do it, then away with the 
rights of the people. If this is not radicalism, the rank old agrarianism, 
starting up here as from the floors of the old Roman senate, shaking its 
gory locks at us, it is very like it. I will say to it, " thou canst not 
say I did it ;" but I will say, also, it is you, and you, who proclaim such 
doctrines, who did it. And where is this thing to stop? Who can tell 
what a people may do hereafter, and what a majority may favor here- 
after — where is it to stop? I said the other day, when it is once admit- 
ted that a mere majority has the right and the power to seize upon the 
property of the people and to appropriate it to such use as they may 
think proper, there is no longer any safety in society. You have but to 
proclaim to all the vagabond population of the W'orld that they have 
only to become citizens of Kentucky, and a majority, in order to seize 
upon the property of our citizens and appropriate it as they think 
proper; you have but to call upon the wild spirits that inhabit the free 
states and the great cities, the skulking vagabond population who only 
seek an opportunity for plunder and murder ; you have but to call 



200 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS, 

upon those people of other countries who have been expatriated from 
their own lands by the laws, and who are driven from necessity to 
violence and outrage on those who are better off; you have but to call 
upon these classes to come to Kentucky, and to assert the rights of a 
citizen, and obtain the privilege of voting, and what would be the re- 
sult ] They would pour in upon us as did the Goth and Vandal barba- 
rians upon the Roman territory ; they would come as did the Huns 
under the lead of Atilla, sweeping before them, as with a whirlwind of 
desolation, all the great institutions of the country, and monopolizing 
all is property. They would rally around some great leader, like that 
" scourge of nations" and destroyer of civil institutions, who looked 
back on the desolation he had left and forward on the beauty that was 
spread before him, and like that conquerer exclaim — " I look ahead, and 
all is beautiful, and all is cheering to my eyes and hopes. I look be- 
hind, and my track is marked in ashes and in blood. Desolation spreads 
itself in my rear, and the beauties of civilization wither and fade at my 
approach." And your beautiful land of Kentucky — this fair garden of 
the United States — this spot where the poet delights to dwell, and the 
statesman and hero delight to linger — this great Kentucky of ours, so 
glorious in the memory of the past, and so bright in the vista of the future 
— it is to become like the plains of Italy ; it is to be scourged by those 
who come, like the Goths and Vandals, and Huns under Atilla, scatter- 
ing ruin and waste through our land. I never will subscribe to such a 
doctrine, or agree that fifty-one men shall be armed with the sovereign 
power of seizing on my life, liberty, or property, and appropriating it 
to their own use, in violation of the great principle which lies at the 
foundation of all free governments." 

The firm and resolute course pursued by Mr. Dixon on the slave 
question, as may naturally be supposed, had no tendency to increase 
his popularity with the emancipationists. Having received the nomi- 
nation for governor in 1851, their influence and suflTrages, with but few 
exceptions, were withheld from him, and as an immense majority of 
them were whigs, his election was thereby defeated. His vote, how- 
ever, was larger than that of any other whig candidate who had pre- 
viously aspired to the oflice. The emancipation candidate, Mr. Cassius 
M. Clay, run both as a whig and an emancipationist. 

Some time before the nomination was conferred upon Mr. Dixon, he 
became satisfied that his election was impossible, and addressed a letter 
to his fellow-citizens of Kentucky, withdrawing his name from all con- 
nection with the office, assigning his reasons for the course which he 
pursued, and calling on the convention to select some other standard- 
bearer, who would be able to unite both the emancipationists and the 
old whigs. But against his own better judgment, and in opposition to 
his remonstrances, his friends in the convention, who constituted a 
large majority, determined upon his nomination. With the conscious- 
ness that he was leading a forlorn hope ; nay, that it was almost abso- 
lutely impossible that he should be elected, his ardor was not damped, 
"nor his naturtil force abated." He was still found in the fore front of 
battle striking bold strokes himself, and urging on his party to the con- 
test. It was a period not only of great interest in the domestic politics 
of Kentucky, but of intense political excitement throughout the eoun- 



ARCHIBALD DIXON, OF KENTUCKY. 201 

try. Two great parties at the North and the South were set against 
each other in hostile array. "The imprisoned winds were let loose. 
The East, the North, and the stormy South, combined to throw the 
whole ocean into commotion, to toss its billows to the skies, and dis- 
close its profoundest depths." It is hardly necessary to say that Mr. 
Dixon was not found among the number of those who lent their influ- 
ence to add to the fury of the storm. Everywhere throughout the 
whole state his voice was heard, trumpet-toned, in the defence of the 
Union, and deprecating, as the most terrible of calamities, its dissolu- 
tion and destruction. While those giants of intellect, Mr. Webster 
and Mr. Clay, were defending it at the capital, their hands were upheld, 
and the position which they occupied made secure, by the able and 
patriotic effljrts of such men as Mr. Dixon among the people. From 
every speaker's stand in Kentucky, his eloquent voice was heard calling 
upon the people to stand by the institutions of their fathers, and main- 
tain the intefjritv of the Union against the insidious attacks of northern 
abolitionists and the more violent and furious onslaughts of southern 
seceders. Those spirit-stirring appeals were not lost. They were not 
thrown away upon listless ears. The people of Kentucky, we assert 
boldly, have more true loyalty of feeling, and deep, unselfish, patriotic 
affection and admiration for the Republic than those of any other state. 
These patriotic sentiments Mr. Dixon, by his bold and manly elo- 
quence, awakened into activity at a time when the expression of such 
sentiments on the part of the masses was necessary to sustain the 
course of those great statesmen who stood like fliithful pilots at the 
helm, and finally succeeded in weathering the storm. lie spoke not 
fur his own election merely, nor for the success of the whig party, but 
for the Union. 

The gubernatorial campaign, as he had anticipated and predicted, 
resulted in his defeat by a small majority. But the emancipation party, 
though it possessed a sufficient number of votes to control the election, 
before the people, on account of the almost equal division of the state 
between the whigs and democrats, did not possess the same command- 
ing power in the legislature, and the immense majority who coincided 
with Mr. Dixou in his opinions on the subject of slavery, determined to 
reward his talents and fidelity with a seat in the United States Senate. 
He was opposed, however, by the whole emancipation influence in the 
contest which ensued for this high office, and was run against nearly 
every prominent whig in the state, Mr. Crittenden included. A caucus 
having at last been called for the purpose of deciding the claims of the 
respective candidates, it was found that Mr. Crittenden and Mr. Dixon 
were the only competitors. The friends of Mr. Dixon clnimed a ma- 
jority of two, but the adherents of Mr. Crittenden remaining firm or 
obstinate, as the apologists of either side may prefer, Mr. Dixon con- 
sented, for the sake of harmony in the whig party, that his own name 
should be withdrawn in connection with the withdrawal of that of ^fr. 
Crittenden. It being anticipated, however, that a vacancy in the senate 
might soon occur, the friends of Mr. Dixon still adhered to him, re- 
solved upon his ultimate success, and in a short time the resignation of 
Mr. Clay again called upon the legislature of Ki'utucky to choose a re- 
presentative to fill the unexpired term of that great man. The name 



202 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

of Mr. Dixon was immcdiateU^ presented to the two houses of the leeis- 
lative body for their sutiiages, and in opposition to it those of many 
other prominent and distinguished whigs, but after a few ballotings his 
election was carried without difficulty. He will take his seat in that 
illustrious body which has been so long adorned by the most brilliant 
talents of the nation, on the first Monday in December, 1852. 

The person of Mr. Dixon is tall and slender, but erect and com- 
manding. His features are regular, and their combined expression 
stern but vivacious. The style of his oratory is bold, vigorous and 
highly impassioned. In his conduct at the bar he employs his whole 
mind and sonl, every thought, feeling, and sentiment, in his cause. 
During the progress of the trial, the court, the jury, and the witnesses, 
constitute the whole world to him. All beyond that little circle, which 
is hemmed in by the iron rails of the bar, is forgotten ; but not the 
slio-htest circumstance which occurs within that circle is disregarded. 
These qualities, so invaluable in a lawyer, could not have failed to se- 
cure him the most abundant success in his pi'ofession. From the out- 
set of his career he has steadily advanced in fortune and reputation. 

As a criminal lawyer, his success has been unusual, and almost un- 
precedented. If he is more at houre in any one branch of his profession 
than another, it is in this. His peculiar style of oratory is perhaps bet- 
ter suited to it. In the solemnity of such an occasion, when the life of 
a human being hangs upon the opinion of a jury of twelve men, when 
the audience is silent from the intense interest which is always excited 
by the importance of the proceedings, it is then that his talent, as a 
forensic speaker, displays itself in its full force and brilliancy. If you 
were not certain that he is the master of his subject you might suppose 
that his subject was the master of him, so completely does he appear 
to be absorbed in the cause of his client. His voice rises to the highest 
pitch, or descends to the deepest tones of solemnity. His eye flashes 
with enthusiasm, the muscles of his face work with the energy of his 
feelings, and the violence of his gesticulation convinces that the whole 
soul of the orator is awakened and aroused. Nor does his spirit flag, 
or the vigor of his declamation abate, until he has thoroughly weighed 
and investigated every point in his cause, and awakened every senti- 
ment of humanity that may exist in the bosoms of the jury. His mas- 
terly conduct of this class of cases has become so well known and uni- 
versally acknowledged, that his services are almost invariably secured 
when it is possible for him to be present at the trial. 

In politics, Mr. Dixon is a decided whig, and has ever supported the 
principles of the whig party with undeviating consistency. An ardent 
admirer and devoted friend of Mr. Clay, he has steadily advocated the 
national policy of that illustrious statesman, and yielded him his warm- 
est support. In heart and soul an advocate for the union of the states, 
the late brilliant efforts of the "Great Pacificator" were contemplated 
by him with satisfaction and delight. He is for the compromise as it 
stands, without the slightest abatement or reservation, as a final settle- 
ment of those alarming questions which have so long agitated the 
country. He has at all times supported by his voice and by his influ- 
ence, a judicious system of public schools ; a subject on which too little 
f.ttention has been hitherto bestowed in Kentucky. Having been poor 



203 

himself, and risen by his own unaided efforts from the ranks, Mr, Dixon 
knows well how to sympathize with the feelings and wants of this large 
class of his fellow-citizens, and he has always found them his Hrmest 
and most reliable adherents in the various contests through which he 
has passed. On his part, at every period of his life, he has given his 
lliithful and energetic support to those measures which were calculated 
to advance their interests and elevate their condition. On the various 
political questions which have occupied the attention of the country for 
the last quarter of a century, he has expressed himself with freedom 
and boldness, but it must be confessed that he has not at all times pro- 
fited by his candor. As a man and citizen, his character is above re- 
[>roach. Devotedly beloved by his friends, his unsullied honor and 
unbending integrity have obtained lor him the respect of all. He is 
now fifty years old. His course of life, from the commencement of 
his professional career, has been in the main prosperous, and vre may 
be permitted to express the hope and expectation that he will gather 
fresh laurels in his new field of exertion. 

[Mr. Dixon is now in the U. S. Senate, having been elected to fill 
the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of the late Henry Clay.] 




f 



'^-.i'^V H S Sa.' 



IHKDl^o JAMES ]L o OB.R 



M.C . OI' SOTJTR CAROZIN'A^. 



Ena ''■fiyr SioarapTacal' Sketches of Bmin.e7Ui jlmsricar^ 



HON. JAMES L. ORK 

OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The subject of this sketch was born at Craytonville, in Anderson 
district, South Carolina, on the 12th day of May, 1822. His father 
was Christopher Orr, and his mother INIartha McCann. His paternal 
grandfather was John Orr, a native of Wake county, North Carolina, 
and a soldier in the Revolutionary war. His maternal grandfather 
was Robert McCann, a native of the County Down, Ireland, who emi- 
grated to the United States about 1786. His father commenced life 
without pecuniary means, but by a successful prosecution of mercantile 
pursuits acquired the means of educating thoroughly a family of three 
sons and two daughters. At an early age he was placed at a country 
school, and after acquiring the rudiments of an English education he 
was placed at an aciidemy at Anderson and commenced the study oi 
the languages (Latin and Greek) under the Rev. J. L. Kennedy, a 
teacher of considerable reputation in the upper districts of Carolina. 
His academical education was completed under Mr. Wesley Leverett, 
a classical scholar of fine attainments, and a teacher who has educated 
more young men who are useful in society than any man of his ageriTlN 
the region of country where he has taught. Whilst prosecutii^^liis ' 
academical course his education in business and human nature was not, 
neglected. On public days, in the village where his father resided, he 
was transferred from the school-roonlxto the merchant's courrTGr and 
counting-room, and made a most cfficierH-^alesn1«ai and boqk-keeper. 

The knowledge he thus obtained of practical business and of men 
has perhaps been one of the most active influences in moulding his 
subsequent career, which has thus far been more successful than most 
men of his age. 

In the eighteenth year of his age he matriculated a student at the 
University of Virginia, preferring that institution for the reason that ho 
co'ild devote himself to such studies alone as would be peculiarly 



206 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

serviceable to him in prosecuting the profession of the law, which he 
had at this early period determined to embrace. 

His first year was spent profitably in pursuing the following studies : 
Natural, mental, and moral philosophy ; political economy ; logic, 
rhetoric, belles-lettres, medical jurisprudence, geology, and miner- 
alogy, as also international, constitutional, and the elements of com- 
mon law. 

He was graduated the first year in moral philosophy, including meta- 
physics, political* economy, and medical jurisprudence. The second 
year he devoted his entire time to the law, under the direction of the 
late J. A. G. Davis, professor in the university, but before its termi- 
nation Professsor Davis was most unfortunately killed by one of the 
students, and the board of visitors, in the emergency presented, feeling 
the necessity of supplying Professor Davis' place at once, as the law 
class numbered some sixty or seventy students, gave the temporary 
appointment for the remainder of the term to a young lawyer of Rich- 
mond, but as he had little experience in his profession the subject of 
our memoir determined to return to his home, where he supposed he 
could prosecute his studies with more profit in some oflice in his own 
state. The course of study prescribed at the university was very 
comprehensive, and he who waded through it, understandingly, could 
hardly fail in making himself a good elementary lawyer. Mr. Orr 
studied here the commentaries of Lord Coke upon Littleton, and ad- 
vanced as far in exploring this fountain of English jurisprudence as the 
youthful mind could go; and he has often declared that his knowledge 
of the principles of the English common law, and more especially those 
governing real estate, was derived from this Cjuaint but profound jurist. 

It is much to be regretted that so few of the lawyers of the present 
day have any familiarity with the commentaries of Coke, for it is really 
the foundation-stone of the common law, and none can understand the 
law of real estate satisfactorily without its comprehension. He who 
bravely encounters its quaintness and intricacies, and reaches his beauti- 
ful benediction to the student, where he says, " And now farewell to our 
jurisprudent ! We wish unto him the gladsome light of jurisprudence, 
the loveliness of temperance, the stability of fortune, and the solidity of 
justice," has indeed achieved an intellectual and professional triumph, 
and has panoplied himself in such solid legal learning as never to cause 
the heart to quail in encountering a professional rival. The year 1841, 
being the first after his return from college, was spent in society, and 
in reading history, ancient and modern, Hume's and Lingard's, with 
the same care as law-books ; and the former is as indispensable to the 
course of a lawyer's reading as Blackstone or Kent. In January, 1842, 
he entered the office of J. N. Whitner, Esq., then the solicitor of the 
western circuit, who has since been promoted to a judgeship, and 
commenced reading the course of study prescribed by the law court of 
appeals of South Carolina, preparatory to applying for admission to the 
bar. The course is very comprehensive, and applicants for admission 
are subjected tn a strict examination thereon, in presence of the whole 
court, before granting a license : if found prepared, upon the exami- 
nation, arc admitted ; if not. are rejected. Judge Whitner was, in per 
forming; the duties of his oflicc. neeessariiv absent fiotn home at least 



JAMES L. ORR, OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 207 

six months in the year, and whilst Mr. Orr was his studoiit very much 
of the office business and practice was devolved upun him. He not 
only issued cases and prepai'ed the pleadings, but often, ex necessitate, 
gave counsel to Judge Whitner's clients, and he derived two very im- 
portant advantages therefrom — first, it familiarized him with {he practice 
in the courts of law and equity, and furnished the occasion of applying 
the elementary principles of his reading to actual cases; and secondly, 
it gave him. confidence in his judgment, and capability to determine a 
legal proposition. He completed the course, and was admitted to the 
bar in May, 1843, at the age of twenty-one. He opened an office at 
Anderson, South Carolina, where he was reared and educated, and 
within a few miles of his native place. He was more fortunate than 
most young lawyers, for within eighteen months after he was licensed 
he was surrounded with quite a respectable practice. 

In the fiill of 1843, having a taste for politics from boyhood, he 
established a newspaper in the town in which he resided, entitled the 
Anderson Gazette, and took the chair editorial, which he filled for one 
year. 

In November, 1843, he married Miss Mary Jane Marshall, second 
daughter of Dr. Samuel Marshall, of Abbeville district. In the follow- 
ing spring he became a candidate for the legislature, and after an ani- 
mated contest he was elected at the head of the ticket, and by an ovei'- 
whelming majority over his whig opponents. He canvassed the district 
very closely, and every voter had the opportunity of hearing him on the 
stump. His party friends were highly gratified at the ability he ex- 
hibited in the canvass, and appreciated in no stinted measure the signal 
services he rendered in the democratic cause and in favor of Mr, Polk's 
election to the presidency. 

In this connection it is proper to relate the flict, that Mr. Orr from boy- 
hood intermingled freely amongst the people, and before he was twenty he 
was personally acquainted with most of the citizens of his district. His 
bland manners, his address and his conversations made him a mvorito 
in all ''anks. This favorable knowledge of him, as a boy and youth, se- 
cured him friends and practice at the bar, and when he was a little 
more than twenty-two years old ho was elected to the legislature, re- 
ceiving about 2500 votes. The same district in 1840 gave a majority 
for the whig candidate for the presidency. He entered the legislature, 
having received a higher vote than any man in the state, but being a 
new member he participated only occasionally in debate. In the dis- 
cussions in which he participated he acquitted himself to the entire sati.'^- 
faction of his friends and constituents, and at the next election he was 
re-elected. He entered actively into the debates of these two sessions. 
There have never been reporters of the proceedings of the South Caro- 
lina legislature, and we have consequently none of his speeches pre- 
served. His principal speeches were made on reforming the free school 
system, giving the election of presidental electors to the people, (now 
selected by the legislature on joint ballot,) in advocacy of extending 
the aid of the state in constructing the Greenville and Columbia, the 
Charlotte and South Carolina, and the Wilmington and Manchester 
rail-roads, and on various questions connected witli the federal relations 
of th(,' state. In 1845 he formed a copartnership in the law with J. P. 



208 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS, 

Reed. Esq., now the solicitor of the western circuit, which continued 
until the spring of 1848, when he became a candidate for Congress. 
The records of the court shew that nearly one-half of all the business 
of the courts of law and equity was transacted by this firm ; and they 
had quite a good practice at some others of the courts of the circuit. 
Mr. Oi-r has studied human character to great profit in the management 
of his causes in court. His perception of the strong features of his 
case is clear and quick, and he consequently does not make long 
speeches to the jury. His most elaborate argument in a will case, iu 
which he took a deep interest, was concluded in a little more than one 
hour. His speeches are argumentative, put principally in the style of 
interrogation, without any eflbrt at oratorical display. 

The court of chancery has always been his favorite branch of juris- 
prudence. The success with which he has practised in that court is an 
enduring memorial of the excellence of his tact and judgment in fram- 
ing bills and answers. The first bill he ever drew was in a case involved 
in the greatest intricacy, and the presiding chancellor said of it that it 
was the most skilfully drawn bill he had seen out of the city practice 
in Charleston. 

In 1848, as we have already stated, he became a candidate for Con- 
gress. His opponent was a lawyer of talents and great professional 
reputation, with much experience in political affairs, having served some 
fifteen years in both branches of the state legislature. They were both 
democrats, and the contest was therefore purely personal. The canvass 
was an exciting one, both the aspirants devoting nearly their whole 
time to it for six months preceding the election, which took place in 
October of that year. When the votes were counted it was ascertained 
that Mr. Orr had beaten his opponent about seven hundred votes. Un- 
der all the circumstances it was a most signal manifestation of the con- 
fidence and esteem by the people for one so youthful. He took his 
seat in December, 1849, a member of the 31st Congress, a Congress 
which has been distinguished for more startling incidents than any other 
in the history of this government. He was opposed to the settlement 
of the sectional question on the basis of what was denominated the 
compromise. He believed that the settlement did injustice to his sec- 
tion of the country ; that one or the other side was cheated in the or- 
ganization of the territorial governments of Utah and New-Mexico, the 
north asserting that Mexican law excluded slavery, and the south the 
opposite opinion ; that Congress had no constitutional power to buy a 
part of a sovereign state and place the population thereon under a ter- 
ritorial government; that if the land belonged to Texas, the govern- 
ment had not the right to buy ; if it belonged to the United States then, 
it was wholly indefensible to take $10,000,000 from the public treasury 
to pay for that which was already their property ; and lastly, that Cali- 
fornia was admitted with excessive territory, without an enumeration 
of her citizens, having formed her constitution without the authority of 
Congress and against all the precedents existing in the previous history 
of the government. The principal speech he made at this session was 
on the slavery agitation, in which he discussed very elaborately the 
tendency and ultimate end of agitation if it was not arrested, and also 
presenting views why California should not be admitted into the Union 



JAMES L. ORK. OF SOL'TII CAROLINA. 209 

before she bad passed a territorial pupilage. He therefore voted against 
all the measures of compromise except the fugitive slave law. He 
participated occasionally in the general debates of the house at this 
session as also at the next. 

When he returned home in March, 1851, at the close of the short ses- 
sion, the State of South Carolina had called a constitutional convention, 
and delegates thereto had been elected, a large majority of whom were 
pledged to vote for the secession of that state from the Union, on ac- 
count of the injustice of the compromise. Mr. Orr advised originally 
against the call of thaconventioji, as, we believe, did a majority of the 
South Carolina delegation in Congress, as he was unwilling that South 
Carolina should incur all the hazards attendant upon secession without 
she had the co-operation of other sister southern states. The constitu- 
tion of South Carolina provides for calling a convention when two- 
thirds of both branches of the legislature concur therein ; and when the 
convention was called the separate state actionists had not quite two- 
thirds, the other third being in favor of providing simply for the election 
of delegates to a southern congress, as recommended by the Nashville 
Convention, and opposed to isolating South Carolina from the South. 
Neither party could carry their measure, and the two were blended into 
one bill, entitled, an act "to provide for the appointment of deputies to 
a southern congress, and to call a convention of the people of the state," 
and passed, the minority having been induced to vote for the call of the 
convention to have the state ready to co-operate with any other state or 
states, or, in the event of a failure, to act then, that a convention might 
be ready to ratify or reject what might be done in the southern congress, 
if it assembled. The elections were ordered in February, as already 
stated, and resulted in the choice of a large majority who -were favor- 
able to separate action, and the pretence was then set up by the seces- 
sion organs that this was the original purpose for which the convention 
was called. Colonel Orr's congressional district had elected about two 
delegates in favor of secession to one against it, and such was the state 
of parties when he returned home. He, however, notwithstanding his 
belief that he was in a minority of one-third, openly proclaimed his op- 
jjosition to the policy of those who claimed to be a majority ; and in a 
public speech at Pickens, a few weeks after his return home, he warned 
his countrymen against the disasters which would inevitably follov/ \i 
the policy of separate secession was carried out — not denying, however, 
the 7-iffht of a state to secede from the Union if she chose to do it ; for 
he has always expressed the opinion that there was but one efiectual 
shield against a central despotism by the general government, and that 
was in upholding and maintaining the rights of the several states who 
are parties to the federal compact. The right of peaceable secession he 
holds to be the highest attribute of sovereignty, and its denial leads ir- 
retrievably to consolidation. Early in May he attended as a delegate 
the convention of the southern rights' associations, held iji Charleston. 
It was a body of great intelligence, and numbering some 450 delegates; 
but, representing the southern rights' associations, it was made up of 
the most ultra men in the state, and the moderates did not exceed thirty. 
Am.ong that number, however, was the Hon. IJ. W. Barnwell, late 
United States senator from South Carolina, Judge Butler, the present 

14 



220 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

senator, and Colonel Orr, each of whom addressed the convention in 
opposition to the policy of the majority. Colonel Orr introduced the 
resolution upon which the minority founded their report, and which af- 
terwards formed the basis of the co-operation party ; for the one 'was 
known as the secession, and the other as the co-operation party. Col. 
Orr's speech was the most effective he ever made on any theatre, and 
so higliiy was it appreciated that it was published by the executive 
committee of the party in Charleston, and circulated in every district 
and parish iu the commonwealth. 

The election of delegates to a southern Congress was ordered for 
October, and as no other popular election was to occur, except that, 
until the probable meeting and action of the convention, the co-opera- 
tion party determined to test the strength of parties in that election. 
Two deputies were to be chosen in each congressional district, and the 
party, by common consent, determined to bring forward Colonel Orr 
and Colonel Irby, of Laurens, as their candidates. The secessionists, 
after declining to run opposition to those gentlemen, subsequently 
brought forward two gentlemen, who enjoyed more personal popularity 
than any other two persons in the congressional district. The Hon. R. F. 
Simpson, a member of Congress for several years, a gentleman of high 
character and great moral worth, and the Hon. H. C. Young, long a 
member of both branches of the legislature, a distinguished lawyer, a 
man of talents, and enjoying a sweeping practice at the bar. Colonel 
Orr commenced the canvass early in August, and was either on the 
stump or on the road almost every day, until the second Monday in 
October. After finishing the tour of his own district, he went into the 
adjoining districts, on special invitations from his political friends. He 
encounteied the eloquence and personal popularity of his Excellency 
Gov. Means, who was reviewing the militia in that section of the state 
— who, when the drill was ended, would address the people, and urge 
them that secession was not only practicable, but that it was their only 
remedy against the wrongs of the federal government. The governor 
and Colonel Orr each addressed six of the eight regiments of militia in 
the 2d district ; Colonel Orr subsequently addressed the remaining two. 
Upon counting the votes, it appeared that Colonel Orr had received 
5,010, and his highest opponent 1,806, giving the former a majority in 
his district, of 3,204 votes. When the canvass opened, five of the 
six newsp^ipers in his district assailed his positic)n and brought all their 
influence to bear against him. When the canvass ended, he expressed 
the opinion that there had not been such a change of public opinion as 
was supposed, that the opposition to secession had merely developed 
itself, and that the secessionists had deceived themselves in assuming 
that the majority was overwhelming in their favor in the outset. Du- 
ring the same month, the Circuit Courts commenced, and his labors 
turned to a new field ; in most of the important cases at Anderson and 
Pickens he was retained. He added, during this circuit, much to his 
reputation as a jurist and advocate. His duties at Washington prevent 
him from attending, every other year, the spring courts of his cir- 
cuit and the courts of chancery, and. all the time, the appeal court. 
This has and will militate much against his practice — whenever a lawyer 
consents to embark in politics, he may make up his mind, in a great 



JAMES L. OUR, OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 21] 

measure, to give up his profession. In ihe great press of political ami 
legal pursuits, Colonel Orr has found time to prepare several orations 
on various topics. He delivered, in 1845, the anniversary oration be- 
fore the literary societies of Erskine College, and, in 1851, before the 
literary societies of Mercer University, Georgia. His style of speaking 
is earnest and impressive. His voice is strong and clear, and his enun- 
ciation distinct. He is never tedious, but secures attention by the 
sound and sensible views which he takes of the subjects which he dis- 
cusses. The character of his intellectual efforts discloses the fact that 
he is capable of close and continued application, and possesses, in a high 
degree, the powder of discrimination and analysis — much of his success 
is referable to confidence in his ability to achieve what he undertakes, 
and a temper naturally sanguine, sustained by an unusually healthy phy- 
sical organization. Naturally cheerful, he loses none of his energies 
in despondency, and will always make the most of the knowledge he 
may acquire. He is a striking illustration of the frankness of the 
southern gentleman in his manner — with tine colloquial powers and a 
decidedly social turn, he is a most agreeable companion, always contri- 
buting his share to social pleasures. He writes with facility and cor- 
rectness, and has acquired a style w^ell adapted to his pursuits. There is 
little artificial either in the manner of his speaking or writing, and much 
of the force of both is derived from this circumstance. Indeed, the frank 
and honest earnestness with which he impresses his views give great force 
and effect to his efforts as a speaker or writer, and a fund of sound infor- 
mation, always at his command, must necessarily secure to him decided 
influence. Col, Orr is stout and athletic, exhibiting the vigor of matured 
manhood combined with a striking personal appearance ; his phrenological 
developments indicate c[uickness and decision combined with consider- 
able powers of analysis. Kind and courteous, his intercourse with his 
fellow-men will always increase the number of his friends, and, should 
he continue in public life, he is destined to render valuable services to 
his country. He represents the district in which the distinguished and 
lamented Calhoun resided, and, in common with all who knew him, 
venerates the memory of that illustrious statesman. Like most of the 
politicians of his state, he cherishes an enthusiastic attachment to South 
Carolina and her interests, which has, at all times, so secured to such 
public servants the confidence of their constituents, as that the term of 
office, as a representative, although nominally but two years, is conti- 
nued by renewal as long as they desire to serve. To this continuance 
of the same individuals in Congress for a number of years is to be at- 
tributed the great influence of that state in the public counsels — a poli- 
cy founded in wisdom and justified by experience. 




i 



'^S^bjrE S.Ga.. 



[Kl® !?3= (S n n-,[B El^Tr [B) E /^ IR3 . 



inicfLcatu 



HON. GILBERT DEAN, 



OF NEW-YORK. 



A FEW years since, in a quiet little village appropriately named 
Pleasant Valley, situate in the county of Dutchess, State of New- 
York, might have been seen, at the district school, a boy of fifteen, a 
native of the place, whose knowledge of books was exclusively con- 
fined to the arts of reading and writing — whose geographical instruction 
had been derived principally in fishing and hunting expeditions in the 
neighborhood, but who was an adept at the sports taught in the vicinity 
of the school-house before and after the hours devoted to learning. 
He had never mastered the multiplication table, consequently arith- 
metic was an abhorrence ; and as to grammar, he had no concep- 
tion of any tense but the present. His deficiencies in these scholarly 
attainments were, however, in his own estimation, amply compensated 
by his precocious proficiency in manly accomplishments ; fur he could 
swim farther, run fiister, jump higher, than any boy of his inches. 
About this time an incident occurred which changed the current of his 
life. From that hour " a change came o'er the spirit of his dream." 
By constant application to studies which had been before neglected, 
he was soon fitted to enter upon an academical course. preparatory to 
admission to college. 

In May, 1837, he entered the Amenia Seminary, in Dutchess county, 
then under the superintendence of the Rev. Davis W. Clark, D. D., 
now of Poughkeepsie, and, in September of the same year, entered 
the Freshman class In Yale College — that mother of statesmen, scholars, 
and jurists. In August, 1841, he graduated at that institution with 
distinction as a scholar, and a high reputation in his class and through- 
out college as a clear and logical reasoner, a ready debater, an original 
and independent thinker, and a strong and correct writer. His college 
career is often spoken of by his class-mates as characteristic, and as 
shadowing forth the course of his subsequent life. While he devoted 
himself with assiduity to the studies of the recitation room, and main- 
tained an elevated rank in the collegiate course, yet his chief delight 
was in the exercises of the numerous literary societies. So thorough 
was his acquaintance with the under-graduates, then numbering about 
four hundred, that he knew every one by name, and many in each class 
intimately ; and in college politics he was entirely at home. He 
studied law in Pine Plains, in his native county, and while there, was 
admitted to the bar. In the spring of 1844 he commenced practising 
his profession in Poughkeepsie, the county seat, where he has ever since 
resided. 

He early married Miss Amelia Smith, of Sharon, Connecticut ; a 
most amiable and accomplished young lady, who died in 1850, beloved 
by all who knew her. 

From the period of Mr. Dean's admission to the bar. until his elec- 
tion to Congress, he devoted himself with untiring assiduity to the 



214 SKKTCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

practice of his profession, never allowing pleasure or recreation to 
encroach upon the hours of business. At the time he commenced 
in Poughkeepsie, there was probably no bar in the state which, in the 
same number of members, contained a more formidable array of legal 
skill and real ability. Hon. Charles H. Ruggles, now presiding Judge 
of the Court of Appeals of the State of New-York, was at that time 
the Circuit Judge and Vice-Chancellor, residing at Poughkeepsie. It was 
to his acute and discriminating judgment that all arguments, both in 
law and equity, were to be addressed ; and it is due to him to say in this 
connection, that his ear was open to the young attorney, presenting his 
first case, with the same attention as was paid to the barrister of twenty 
years' standing. At the bar of that county, at that time, and in 
full practice, were those veteran lawyers, Henry Swift, Stephen 
Cleveland, Hon. Charles Johnston, the eloquent Robert Wilkinson, 
and the Hon. Seward Barculo, now Justice of the Supreme Court, 
and many others, not, perhaps, as widely known, but men of real 
learning and sterling ability. For a young man to acquire a standing 
merely, at such a bar, among such men, is proof enough of his talents ; 
for in the legal profession alone, " success is the true touchstone of 
desert." In medicine there is much, very much quackery — if the patient 
lives, the physician claims the credit; if he dies, it is a dispensation 
of Providence. In the pulpit, the ready and fluent speaker can easily 
acquire a reputation which could not exist an hour at the bar. 
For the preacher has no one to deny his assertions, or contest his 
propositions. His sermons are delivered to audiences who are of 
the same opinion, and who have no interest in showing the fallacy 
of his reasoning, or ascertaining whether he reasons at all. But the 
lawyer has a keen and watchful opponent, an inquiring jury, a learned 
and impartial judge. All these ordeals will test his capacity and deter- 
mine his merit. 

He is obliged to keep his mind every instant on the alert, and must 
decide, at first sight, what course to pursue, as the case of his adversary 
is developed. No man can trade long in such a place, on " borrowed 
capital." 

Mr. Dean, instead of being compelled to wait, as most young law- 
yers are, for years, before obtaining an opportunity to prove whether 
they have made choice of the right profession, found himself imme- 
diately in a large and profitable busmess. It is principally as an advo- 
cate that he has won his professional laurels, and as a successful crimi- 
nal lawyer he is not surpassed. While his addresses in summing 
up a cause arc all argumentative and strictly logical, yet in appealing 
to the feelings and passions of a jury he k seldom rivaled. He never 
addresses a court, or jury, for the purpose of making a speech, but talks 
to them for the purpose of influencing the feelings, or convincing the 
judgment that his case is right; he forgets himself and his own inter- 
est in his cause, and devotes his utmost energies for the success of his 
client, leaving his own reputation to take care of itself. He holds it a 
breach of professional duty in a lawyer to allow any considerations per- 
sonal to himself to interfere with success in the cause of his client — to 
that, and that only, should he devote himself. By this habit he has lost 
some fair-weather fi'iends, but has gained many clients and more causey. 



GILBERT DEAN, OF NEW-YORK. 215 

Mr. Dean is peculiarly a representative of "Young America," not only 
in Congress, but in his profession. He is ever willing to take the in- 
experienced practitioner by the hand, and aid him in every possible man- 
ner ; and the young men, appreciating this trait in his character, have 
always been his friends. In 1850, the writer of this biographical notice 
received from him a letter congratulating him on his nomination, and we 
conskler it no breach of confidence to publish the following .extract from 
it : "The patriarchs of the party think me too young — they have an idea 
that the world has been stationary for the last twenty-five years — that 
it has really forgotten to revolve — that a man is never ripe until he's rot- 
ten, and that wisdom was born and will die with them. What this feel- 
ing will amount to, I don't know; but if the 'Young Democracy' stand 
by me, as 1 believe they will, we'll show them a race in which the colts 
will not come out second best." It is not necessary to say, that the 
"Young Democracy" did stand by him, nor that the colt did not come 
out second best. 

^Mr. Dean is a democrat of the progressive school, but not a destruc- 
tive nor impracticable ; indeed, he is entirely practical and practicable, 
and wholly free from all those dangerous theories which have been em- 
braced by so many of late, and which are fatal to the rights of property 
and the very existence of society. As an instance proper to be noticed 
in a work of this kind, we would cite the bold philippic which he de- 
livered in Poughkeepsie, on the subject of " Law Eeform," in 1847, 
when almost every newspaper in the state was running mad for change. 
After pointing out most distinctly the difference between alteration and 
miprovement, and demolishing the theories of the innovators, he speaks 
m becoming language of the preposterous idea of allowing every man 
to practise as an attorney without previous study, or an examination, 
thus : " But our reformers tell us, that they stop not with the language 
tif the law, they would by legislation make every man a lawyer. 
Nonsense. As well may they by legislation make every man a poet 
or philosopher, or change the color of his skin. They know not that 
the profession of the law is a science — that it is founded upon principles 
\s deep and broad as truth and justice — that its superstructure has been 
reared by the wisdom of every age since Moses, the great lawyer of the 
Hebrews, expounded his statutes — that in its study and improvement, 
such minds as Coke and Eldon, and Mansfield and Story, have been a 
life-long engaged — that its only object is to establish the right and to 
punish the wrong — that this science derives its existence from the very 
nature of things. Talk about making lawyers by an act of the legisla- 
ture here in Dutchess county, the native soil of Thompson and Spencer, 
of Oakley and of Kent — dare any man whisper it here, within sight of 
our court-house, that has witnessed the efforts of these, and other simi- 
larly gifted minds, grappling with and mastering subjects beneath which 
the pigmy intellect of these noisy reformers would sink like a reed be- 
neath the giant tread of the tornado? Make every man a lawyer ! Yes, 
you may, when legislation can make a man a scholar; when it can im- 
part to ignorance learning and experience, and when mortal volition can 
create mind ! If the legislature is not a corporate Jupiter, containing 
in its capacious brain legions of armed men, who, Minerva like, are to 
spring forth, full grown, trained and ready for any emergency — the world 



s 



216 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

must roll on its accustomed orbit ; lawyers and doctors, priests and 
printers, must, by study, by steady and unwearied application, by the 
low progress of years,, gain that mental discipline, 'that linked armor 
for the soul,' which can alone prepare them for their respective callings. 
Any other course would be as disastrous to the people as disreputable 
to the profession. All experience shows that in the law, as in every- 
thing else, there is not — there can never be — a ' royal road to learning.' " 
Let all young men who read the above, consider it will. Now that 
the facilities for entering the profession are so great, and that the exami- 
nation is a mere farce, there is danger that many, very many, too eager 
for early admission to the bar, may begin before they have had the re- 
quisite training — before they have studied and mastered the principles 
of the science. If they do it, and make their first appearance in the courts, 
and fail, they are ruined, and all hope of future advancement is gone. 

Of Mr. Dean's congressional course it is hardly proper here to speak, 
as it is but just begun — the present being his first session — and this 
being the first time he was ever a member of any legislative body. He 
has as yet avoided the rock on which so many young men accustomed 
to speaking, and who are regarded as orators at home, have split. These 
ordinarily enter Congress — think making speeches their first business — 
no one listens to their eloquence — they become dissatisfied and discon- 
tented, neglect their duties, abandon public life, and return home dis- 
appointed men. Mr. Dean has not hesitated from the very first day of 
the session, when he believed that the interests of his constituents re- 
quired it, to make himself heard — nor has he dodged or refused to vote 
on any question of public interest. Although devoted to his profession, 
he does not forget literature and science. He is a constant contributor 
to the periodical literature of the day, though his eflforts in that line 
are mostly of the caustic or criticising character. He hates sham — the 
whole family, from Alpha to Omega; and when he sees it in literature, 
society or politics, his tongue and pen express the feelings of his heart. 
As a private citizen, he is esteemed and respected ; as a man, his cha- 
racter is without reproach, and his friendship is not mere partiality, but 
devotion ; and if any young man entering upon this or any other pro- 
fession asks to what his success is attributable, we answer, not to influ- 
ential or partial friends, not to birth, not to inherited wealth, nor yet to 
accident, but to industry, energy, and perseverance, joined to a life of 
the strictest morality and integrity. 

And the success of such as the subject of this memoir is the noblest 
commentary on our free institutions. It is enough to endear them to the 
heart of every flxther who has sons lor whose future welfare and advance- 
ment he hopes — enough to render them sacred to every young man who 
has his own destiny to achieve. Of his professional and political future, 
we cannot better speak than by quoting the language of a cotemporary : 
— "Mr. Dean has marked the advent of his public career by an exhibi- 
tion of candor and firmness, which makes his future big with promise." 




iUTG &'om -i l-'*o 




PTtESlDENT Of 7-If'E M£-C//AJftCS'B/lN/C 

AT WO/iCESTER. MASSACHUSETl'S. 

&.T4.C-.XSmT CONOHESS. 



L.'Uff'Ut^ii t.ji / n'ij'U/jf'J.'UJ . t^' a /tt 



ALEXANDER DE WITT. 

OF OXFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, PRE&iDilNT OF THE MECHANICS' BANK AT 

■WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 

That a head to conceive, with an industrious perseverance of will to 
carry out, can accomplish anythingthat it desires, is in the subject of this 
memoir most fully verified. Although born of parents too poor to give 
him any opportunity of education, he has since risen to an eminence in 
the business world rarely attained even by those who wei'e regularly 
educated. He never lost an opportunity for improvement, socially or 
mentally, and is in the truest sense a self-made and self taught man. 
He is one of " God's noblest works ;" an example to all young men ; 
disproving the doctrine, that one must be to the " manor born" to suc- 
ceed in those qualities which go to make up an honest man of dis- 
tinction in the business community. He was born in New-Braintree, 
Worcester county, Massachusetts, April 2cl, 1798, being one of a 
family of nine children, and remained with his parents nearly all the 
time for the first fifteen years of his life, doing such work as he or his pa- 
rents could find for him to do by the clay or month on flirms Or othei-wise, 
his parents receiving generally for such service a small pittance in grain 
or some other farm product. At the age of fifteen he went to Dudley, iri 
Massachusetts, as an apprentice in a manufactory of wool and cottoii 
goods, in connection with a country store. He i-emained in the employ 
of this establishment about five years, during which time he was sent 
abroad more or less to dispose of the goods which were manufactured 
by this company. His travels, whilst in the employ of this company, 
were wide, extending to some of the extreme southern states. In this 
business he matured himself as a trader, for which he had a strong fen^ 
chant from his youth. In 1818, he was employed by a cotton manu- 
facturing company in Franklin, Massachusetts, as an accountant, and 
the following year formed a connection with Doctor Nathaniel Miller, 
of Franklin, for one year, for the purpose of making cotton thread. 
They had two frames of sixty-four spindles each. The following year 
he leased a larger mill at Foxboro', Massachusetts, for the manufacture 
of the same goods, and at the same time opened a country store. 
When his goods were ready for market, he took them in a wagon with 
all the necessaries to sustain life of man and beast, and started on 
a peddling expedition. In this business, that pride which has been the 
ruin of thousands of young men, came near ruining him. He felt above 
his business, and for the first tv.-o or three days his sales were light, as 
he could not bring his mind to ask any one to purchase his merchandise. 
He saw at once that as he was going on a failure was certain, and solilo- 
quizing with himself, he came to the full conclusion that he must (luit his 
business for some other more congenial to his present taste, or to take 
hold of it with spirit, determined to prosecute it in that way which honor- 
ably would best subserve his pecuniary interest. He chose the latter. 
With this determination, no place or individual was passed with whon\ 
he thought there was an opitortunily of turning an honest penny by 



218 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

"truck and dicker." Having made up his mind to prosecute his busi- 
ness thoroughly, he could not help but succeed, and in the course of a 
year or two orders were received for his goods as fast as he could fill 
them. 

On the 5th of June, 1820, he married Mary, the daughter of William 
Makepeace, Esq., of Franklin, who is still living, and to whose sound 
judgment and faithfulness in tlie discharge of all duties relating to their 
domestic affairs ue attributes much of his success in life. Mr. Make- 
peace erected a factory, and in connection with the subject of this 
sketch, continued the manufacture of thread successfully until 1825, 
when he removed to Oxf)rd, Massachusetts, and in connection with 
three brothers, built there the largest thread manufactory then in the 
United States. These brothers continued in business together nearly 
twenty years. Colonel Busteed and others erected a woolen mill in 
Oxford, and followed the manufacture of broadcloths very successfully for 
years. Colonel De Witt was among the earliest pioneers in the cotton 
and wool manufacturing, and although the business was generally dis- 
astrous to those who early embarked in it, yet the subject of this 
memoir so managed his affairs that he was ever able to meet all his 
engagements with a promptness for which he has ever been distinguish- 
ed. The brothers were the largest landholders in Oxford. In 1830, he 
was chosen by the town of Oxford as a democratic representative to the 
General Court, and represented this town in the Assembly for several 
successive years. In ^1824, he received a colonel's commission. In the 
years 1833 and 1834, the discussion of the removal of the deposits of 
the government funds from the United States Bank came up among the 
leading democrats of Massachusetts, and although always opposed to the 
United States Bank, still ever true to the binding obligations of con- 
tracts, he opposed such removal, on the ground that the government 
had agreed with the bank that the funds of the government should be 
deposited in the bank ftu* twenty years, and sixteen years only had 
elapsed, and the bank had fulfilled every obligation to the government 
without loss, and therefore it was right that the deposits should remain 
four years longer. This in a measure broke off his connection 
with the party. In 1837, he removed to Boston, and engaged in the 
commission business for the sale of domestic goods, where he remained 
three years, and then returned to Oxford, and nearly all the time for 
the next two years was a farmer by profession, but in fact his mind was 
constantly upon the great cotton manufacturing interest of our country, 
which was at that time, and had been for years previous, in a very de- 
pressed state. He began to invest in various mills, and for some four 
years following such a harvest to cotton manufacturers had never been 
known in this country. In 1842 and 1844, he was chosen a whig 
Senator to the Massachusetts legislature. From 1842 to 1846, he was 
largely interested in the business of cotton and wool manufiicturing. 
In 1848, he was chosen President of the Mechanics' Bank, Worcester, 
and has continued in that office since its formation. This bank is now 
the largest country bank in the state. 

He is now president of several manufacturing corporations, and also 
the President of the Worcester and Nashua Rail-road Corporation. Few 
men, under the most favorable circumstances, have gained the confidence 



ALEXANDER DE WITT, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 219 

of the community in which he lives so firmly as he has, or has filled 
and is filling so many offices of important trust. How few men, having 
had no more advantages in early life, have filled the stations he has with 
equal honor ! With a heart of the kindliest feelings, and a benevolence 
that knew no bounds, he has, from the time he was able to earn the 
smallest pittance to the present time, done more or less as his means 
permitted towards the education of his relatives and friends. Although 
there has been no ostentatious show of " charities bestowed," yet hun- 
dreds would attest with willing hearts the " aid and comfort" they have 
received at his hands. There has pi'obably not been a year since he 
commenced business that he has not been the moving cause of the 
education of more than one. Surrounded by many poor relatives, no 
deserving one ever applied to him for assistance, when pecuniary aid 
would do them good, that did not get it. These remarks are by no 
means solely applicable to relatives. Many a young man having come 
to that point in his business when bankruptcy stared him full in the 
face, has, by making a clean breast of his affairs to the subject of these 
remarks, been carried through the most trying times by him, and 
placed in a position which gained him honor and opulence. Although 
possessed of a heart that "feels for others' woes," yet his benevolence 
was of that discriminating character that always resulted in good. No 
movements of importance can be made with him without a clear per- 
ception of the end. Of such men our country has too few, and with more 
such, how much better would be our condition ! Self-reliance has ever 
been his rule of action, and although willing and desirous of hearing 
the opinions of others, yet his mind was not made up from theirs, but 
from the merits of the case after close exaRiination. He stands out in 
bold relief a self-made and self-taught man, and, as has been before 
said, an example to all young men, proving that it is not necessary to 
be to the '• manor borir" to become a man of distinction. 




MOlfo AlfdJTUS PATTERS O If 



OF BAJUrWELL DISTRICT , SOZTTa CAJROLJNA - 



JBna ^for BioaraphjaiZ' Sketches of JSTrtineyU^^Americans. 



HON. ANGUS PATTERSON, 

OF BARNWELL DISTRICT, SOUTH CAROLINA, 

Is the son of Alexander and Elizabeth Patterson, who were of 
Scotch extraction. They belonged to a colony of Highlanders who 
emigrated to North Carolina before the Revolution, and settled in the 
counties of Cumberland, Moore, Richmond, and Robeson. Angus was 
born in the latter, on the 5th day of December, 1790. His parents 
were as well educated as the times and the then state of the country 
admitted ; they were, in common with most of their neighbors and 
countrymen, poor but moral, religious, contented, industrious, economi- 
cal, and anxious for the education and advancement of their children. 
They could, though they did not, generally speak the Gaelic language, 
which at that time was the common dialect of the elder inhabitants of 
the Scotch settlement. They were, as were all their countrymen, rigid 
Presbyterians, and a branch of the Kirk of Scotland; — no clergyman 
was allowed to preach, permanently at least, in their churches, who was 
not sent out and recommended by the Kirk — the ability to preach in 
Gaelic being an indispensable qualification. His paternal grand-parents 
were Daniel and Mary Patterson; the maiden name of the latter was 
McMillan ; they emigrated twelve or fifteen years before the Revolu- 
tion, and first settled in Cumberland, but soon removed to the Raft 
Swamp in Robeson county, where a few of their descendants still re- 
side. His maternal grand-parents were John and Isabel Patterson. They 
lived and died at a very advanced age in ]\Ioore county, near the head 
of Rockfish, a tributary of the Cape Fear. John Patterson was 16 years 
of age when he came to America, and must have been amongst the 
first emigrants, as he had acquired considerable property, and had 
several children grown at the commencement of the Revolutionary 
war. His maternal grandmother, whose maiden name was McDufiie, 
spoke Gaelic imperfectly, and was born in America; her family, or 
rather her brother, Archibald McDuffie, the only portion of her family 
we ever heard of, lived in Cumberland, near Fayetteville. The family 
is now extinct, or removed to parts unknown. His father was too 
young to take part in the Revolutionary M-ar, and both his grandfathers 
were, as were most native Scotchmen, neutral. A brother of his 
mother served in the American army at Guilford, and probably in 
other engagements. His Other's and mother's maiden name were 
pronounced alike, but the families were not connected, and, besides, 
they spelled the name differently, one with one ^, and the other with 
two. His grand-parents, on both sides, left a numerous offspring, who 
have generally removed to the west, south, and south-west, and are to 
be found in every state, from the Cape Fear to the Rio Grande. His 
father, as far back as he can recollect, worked with one or two slaves 
on his farm in summer, and for two years in winter taught a small 
school, a little more than a mile from his residence. To this school 
our subject was carried, sometimes by his father, and sometimes by 



222 SKETCHES or EMINENT AMEKICANS. 

a servant. He must have "been young, and could have learned but 
little. 

About 1803 or 1804, several young Scotchmen, having acquired a 
classical education, became Presbyterian ministers, and opened several 
academies in the Scotch settlement. To one of these, located at Solemn 
Grove, in Moore county, in charge of the Rev. Murdoch McMillar., 
Mr. Patterson was sent, where he remained nearly two years, boarding 
gratuitously in the family of a maternal uncle who lived in the neigh- 
borhood. There he made some progress in Latin, and reviewed English 
Grammar. 

About this time he became sensible that he would have to shift for 
himself; that for further progress in obtaining an education he would 
have to rely on his own exertions. Though his father had increased 
his property a little, he had a number of children, by three marriages, 
of whom Angus was the oldest. He saw that he could expect no 
material pecuniary aid from him. When he left Solemn Grove he 
was invited by his kinsman, Kenneth Black, to act as his assistant in 
the Lumberton Academy, of which he had charge. Mr. Patterson in- 
structed the lower classes during school hours, for which he received 
a small salary, scarcely sufficient to pay for board and clothing, and had 
the privilege of joining a class. Mr. Black was a pretty accurate classi- 
cal scholar, and afforded his pupils every facility he could. Mr. Patter- 
son read portions of Ovid, Virgil, Horace, and Cicero's Orations, and 
managed to keep up with his class, but it may be supposed that he did 
not indulge in much sleep. He could understand Horace best, and he 
was his favorite author. He made a little, and but little, progress in 
Greek, Here Mr. Patterson resolved to direct all his efforts to the 
acquisition of a collegiate education. His plan was to obtain the neces- 
sary funds by teaching school ; and, accordingly, in December, 1808, 
failing to get employment nearer home, he came to South Carolina, 
and succeeded in obtaining a school in Colleton District, near Patter- 
son's Bridge. He had a Virgil and Horace, and spent most of his time, 
when not in school, in reading them. Not liking the manners of the 
neighborhood, he gave up his school at the end of the first quarter, 
and obtained employment as a private tutor in the family of Mr. John 
Witsell, in the same district, near Jacksonborough, then the seat of 
justice of Colleton district. There he remained a year in charge of 
three boys, who improved but little under his instruction. He at- 
tended the Court of Common Pleas, as a spectator, and became ac- 
quainted with one or two lawyers, who suggested the idea of giving 
up going to college, and to read law. Having conceived a fondness 
for forensic proceedings, be readily adopted this suggestion, and borrow- 
ing a copy of Blackstone's Commentaries, read it through, and portions 
several times, while living in the flimily of Mr. Witsell. Near the end 
of his engagement with Mr. Witsell, he received an offer from the late 
Johnson Hagood, Esq., of Barnwell District, to understand the nature of 
which it is necessary to premise, that Mr. Hagood had been a lawyer of 
considerable practice, but having become a planter, was withdrawing 
from the profession. He had a good library, both law and miscellane- 
ous. The proposal was to instruct a few children certain hours, for a 



ANGUS PATTERSON, OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 223 

small pecuniary compensation, and the use of the library and office. 
This situation was well adapted to his views. Mr. Ilagood still had 
some professional business, which he soon left almost entirely tu Mr. 
Patterson's management, visiting the office occasionally, when Mr. 
Patterson requested his advice. He issued writs, drew declarations, and 
prepared cases for trial, by noting the facts and looking up the law. 
Tic had ample time, and took no step without consulting every book in 
the office treating of the matter under investigation. In this way he 
became pretty well acquainted w^ith the rules of pleading and evidence. 
Special pleading in those days was countenanced, if not encouraged, i)y 
the bench and the bar, though it is quite different now, — the declaration 
is seldom looked into, and a special demurrer is regarded with little 
favor. Besides books of practice, he read Burlamaqui on Natural Law, 
Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws, Vattel on International Law, Fearne on 
Contingent Remainders, Foublanque's Equity, and some history, bio- 
graphy, and poetry. He was advised by most persons whom he con- 
sulted, as to the proper course of reading, to study Coke on Littleton 
attentively. He accordingly commenced the task several times, but 
never could get more than half through the book. He began with Mr. 
Hagood in July, 1810, and in November, 1812, he went to Charleston 
and entered the office of the late John S. Richardson, then attorney- 
general of the state, and for many years subsequently a judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas. He now bid adieu to the business of school- 
master, having succeeded in it but poorly. To him it was a labor of 
necessity, and not of love. His principal employment in the office of 
Mr. Richardson was drawing indictments and declarations, but he made 
shift to look into many of the then modern cases, such as are reported 
in Burrows, Douglas, &c. For the principles established in the old re- 
ports he relied on Comyn's Digest, and Viner's and Bacon's Abridge- 
ments. Here he first resorted to the practice of acquiring a general 
knowledge of the contents of a book without reading it, which pjroved 
of much advantage to him when pressed for time, in subsequent life. 
While in Charleston, he attended a session of the circuit and appeal 
courts, and was complimented by the late Judge Calcock for his at- 
tention. From that time that able judge, and amiable man, as long as 
he lived, was his personal friend. In May, 1813, he was admitted, by 
the court of appeals in Columbia, to practice in the courts of law. He 
forthwith opened an office in the village of Barnwell, and Mr. Hagood 
having died, in the mean time, he purchased his law library, and fell 
heir to some of his cases and clients. Mr. Patterson had but little 
local competition. The late Hon. William D. Martin had studied law 
in Barnwell, where he had respectable connections, and was deservedly 
personally popular. He had been admitted some months, perhaps 
a year, before Mr. Patterson, and settled in the adjoining district of 
Beaufort, but, through a partnership, had an extensive and increasing 
practice in Barnwell. With that gentleman Mr. Patterson practised 
long and pleasantly. The transient bar was numerous, considering the 
quantity of business, and formidable for talents. The principal mem- 
bers were — Robert Stark, solicitor of the circuit; Richard Gantt, after- 
wards Judge Gantt, Edmund Bacon, John J. Chappell, Etheldred 
Simpkins, and John M. Felder. The three last named have since been 



224 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

members of Congress and of the state legislature. By these gentlemen 
he was treated with marl<ed l^^indness, particularly by Mr. Stark, who 
not only gave Mr. Patterson his countenance and advice, but aid. All 
these gentlemen, except Col. Chappell, have " shuffled off this mortal 
coil.". 

There is nothing a young man remembers so long or so gratefully as 
the courtesies of his senior brethren. Mr. P. came to the bar a 
stranger — an inexperienced youth, without money, and with no friends 
except a few whose confidence he had gained in the office of Mr. 
ILtgood. These adhered to him as long as they lived, and he has had 
the pleasure of rendering important professional service to some of 
their descendants. Before his admission he lived very retired, avoid- 
ing rather than seeking society; and was bashful to an unreasonable 
degree. Conscious of having made all the preparation he could, he did 
not lack confidence in himself; yet he was so timed, excitable and ner- 
vous, that after an argument, he could scarcely recollect a word uttered. 
Nothing but necessity enabled him to overcome this timidity. His 
business increased rapidly, and by 1818 he was in full practice. From 
1820, as long as he continued an active member of the bar, he had a^ 
much and sometimes more business than he could do justice to. In 
1818 he first appeared as counsel in the Court of Appeals. 

He early commenced investing a portion of his income. He fin t 
became a farmer. In 1827 he began to plant with a moderate capital, 
which was increased from time to time. In common with most pro- 
fessional men, at least of the South, he was passionately fond of agri- 
cultural pursuits, but never permitted them to interfere with his pro- 
fessional engagements, and therefore had to divide the proceeds of his 
planting interest with agents and managers. 

In 1818 he was elected to the House of Representatives, re-elected 
in 1820, and after serving four years in that house, was elected to the 
Senate in 1822 — and re-elected every four years until he retired in 
1850. The sessions of the legislature of South Carolina are so short, 
never more than twenty days, that a seat in it does not interfere with 
p!-nfessional duty. While on the floor of the Senate he acted as chair- 
man of one of the working committees, at the same time serving as a 
member on several others. At the session of 1832 he was appointed 
chairman of the special committee to which the ordinance of nullifica 
tion was referred, and of which the Hon. A. P. Butler and the Hon. 
James Gregg were members. A similar committee was raised in the 
House of Representatives, of which the Hon. B. F. Dunkin, now 
Chancellor Dunkin, was chairman, and the Hon. Wm. C. Preston and 
other gentlemen since distinguished, were members. In the nullifica- 
tion contest, party spirit ran high, and was in some instances bitter. 
Though his political course was decided, he retained throughout the 
contest many personal friends in the ranks of political opponents. 
While in the Senate, he had the happiness to be associated with many 
of the most distinguished men who appeared on the political stage in 
the state during the present century. They have now, with a few excep- 
tions, passed away. In December, 1838, he was elected president of 
ihe Senate, and being re-elected every two years, occupied that office 
M'hile he continued a member of that body. On the adjournment of 



ANGUS PATTERSON, OF SOUTH CAUOLliN'A. 225 

the session of 1849, he became engaged in preparing for the Court 
of Chancery, which was to sit early in Febj'iiary, About the middle of 
January his health suddenly gave way. In a few days he became so 
feeble as to be scarcely able to walk, had a troublesome cough, and lost 
his voice almost entirely. As advised, he went directly to East 
Florida. By this movement he escaped the cold of February, March 
and April, and his health improved a little, more probably from 
the repose enjoyed, and which he stood much in need of, than from any 
other cause; It is doubted w^hether the climate was favorable to his 
case. On returning home he purchased a residence in the town 
of Aiken, which he intends to make his principal place of abode. 
His health has gradually improved, his voice is in some measure 
restored, but he is still feeble. 

In 1819 he married a daughter of the late Francis Tratti. His wife 
is of Italian, Greek and Irish descent. Their union has been one 
of uninterrupted happiness. Of eleveia children, two died in earl_^ 
infancy, a third left an infant a few days old, now grown to be a 
promising boy, and supplies to some extent the place of his mother 
in the aflections of the family. 



15 




Entf'd, Ly P. Girsc 




'j:jp^z 



ISAAC W. HAYNE, 

ATTORNEY-GENERAL FOR THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 

Whose likeness we present, from an excellent daguerreotype, and a 
brief memoir of whom we append, is the present Attorney -General of 
that state. 

He was born in the year 1809, in York district, in the upper part of 
South Carolina. His ancestry, both paternal and maternal, occupy dis- 
tinguished places in the Revolutionary history of the Carolinas, His 
father, William Edward Hayne, was a son of Colonel Isaac Hayne, 
the patriot martyr, who sealed with his blood his devotion to the prin- 
ciples of liberty. His mother was a daughter of Captain Alexander 
Brevard, of Lincoln county, North Carolina — one of the seven gallant 
brothers who held commissions in the whig ranks during the war of the 
Revolution. The eldest of these was Dr. Ephraim Brevard, the author 
of the celebrated "Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence ;" and 
the youngest of them, the late Judge Brevard, of South Carolina. 

Since the period of the Revolution, South Carolina, (with, perhaps, 
the single exception of Mr. Calhoun, her late '■'■ pre-emine7it 8enatoi\''^ 
as he has been not unaptly called,) has had no son more cherished 
while living, or more mourned in death, than another of the Hayne 
fomily, who in early life filled the same distinguished post with the 
subject of this sketch. We allude to the Hon, Robert Y. Hayne, the elo- 
quent opponent of Mr. Webster, in the memorable constitutional debate, 
in the United States Senate, in 1830 ; a gentleman, who combined in 
himself the practical, the brilliant, and the endearing, in a degree which 
seldom falls to the lot of a single individual. The name is deservedly 
popular in South Carolina. 

When Mr. Isaac Hayne was quite young, he removed with his 
father, to Columbia, where he received his education. While in the 
South Carolina College, at that place, a tribute was paid to his scholar- 
ship and character, in his election to the office of tutor before he had 
graduated, and when but eighteen years of age ; and never did tutor 
have a more agreeable time with the usually unruly youth of that insti- 
tution. His amiability, together with his very decided personal 
character, secured universal respect as well as affection, notwithstand- 
ing his youth, and, indeed, perhaps, the more on account of his youth. 

In 1831, Mr. Hayne became the editor of a political newspaper, pub- 
lished in Columbia; entering with unbounded enthusiasm into the ex- 
cited politics of the period, and applying himself, with untiring assi- 
duity, to the advocacy of the extreme doctrines of State Rights, at that 
time proposed to be enforced by the state. In this year also he was 
admitted to the bar. 

In 1832, he removed to Beaufort district, and was in that year 
unanimously elected clerk of the celebrated Nullification Conven- 
tion, and after the passing of the Ordinance of Nullification, became 
private secretary to his distinguished relative, Governor Hayne. 



228 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



This early initiation into active political life, at a time when there 
existed a political intensity far greater than had ever been exhibited 
before, or elsewhere, in the United States, imbued Mr. Hayne with 
that deep and abiding interest in the destiny of the South, which 
even his strong will has found it difficult to harmonize with the severe 
requirements of professional duty ; though political office he has thus 
far steadily eschewed, and has never held a seat in any deliberate 
body. 

In the years 1835 and 1836, cotton planting in Alabama and Missis- 
sippi was deemed to be a sure and rapid road to fortune. The credit 
system prevailed to an unhealthy extent, and great inducements were 
held out to men of energy and enterprise to embark in the business. 
It was not uncommon to find professional men in the older southern 
states abandoning remunerating business, and embarking in this new 
pursuit, or investing the acquisitions of years of toil in negroes and 
cotton lands in the southwest. 

Colonel Hayne, (as an appointment to the staff of Governor M'Duffie 
about this period, entitled his friends to call him,) then but lately mar- 
ried, and for the first time a father, was seized with this unprofessional 
mania, and removed to Alabama, where for two years he devoted him- 
self exclusively to cotton planting. The business, however, was not 
of a nature to satisfy the cravings of so active an intellect, and he re- 
sumed the practice of the law, in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1838, and 
remained in that place in the enjoyment of a full and valuable practice 
until 1840. 

In Montgomery, Col. Hayne was thrown into collision with lawyers 
of high ability. Few inland towns can furnish a roll of names superior 
in legal knowledge and skill as advocates, t'.^ that of which Montgomery 
justly boasts. Among them are. E. S, Dargan, (now Chief Justice of 
the Supreme Court of Alabama,) George Goldthwaite, (a member of 
that court also,) John A. Campbell, (now of Mobile, Alabama,) Col. 
Thomas Williams, John E. Ellmore, Nathan Harris, and others of 
hardly less repute. At this bar. Col. Hayne acquired a solid reputa- 
tion, not less as a strong thinker, a close and forcible reasoner, and an 
apt and discriminating lawyer, than as an earnest, skilful, and success- 
ful advocate. 

In 184C), Colonel Hayne, to the surprise and grief of his numerous 
friends in Alabama, determined to remove to Charleston, South Caro- 
lina. With his brethren of the bar he was deservedly a favorite, as 
well from his marked fairness, frankness, and courtesy, in the conduct 
of business, as from his eminently social qualities. 

The move was a bold and trying one. At the head of the Charleston 
bar were such veterans in reputation and in practice, as James L. Peti- 
gru, B. F. Hunt, C. G. Memminger, Henry Bailey, the then Attorney- 
General, and Richard Yeadon, with many younger men of decided 
ability and accomplishments. 

The field of exertion, too, was new and untried to one trained in the in- 
land courts of Alabama. There, besides the fact that it is a new state, the 
great body of the common law may be said to be almost entirely over- 
laid by statutes, upon the construction of which very much of the liti- 
gation turns ; while in the long-settled State of South Carolina the com 



ISAAC W. HAYNE, OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 229 

mon law exists, with less change, probably, than in any state in the 
Union, and the bullv of her statute law is older than the Revolution. 
The experience, therefore, of Mr. Hayne in Alabama, except from the 
discipline it afforded, availed him little in South Carolina in the con- 
struction of wills, and deeds of marriage settlement, and the elucidation 
of questions of " executory devises," "contingent remainders," and 
" limitations over;" to say nothing of cases of "water vent" on rice 
plantations, and cases of " admiralty" and " insurance." 

Having formed a connection with a legal firm, of considerable- 
practice, in Charleston, he was at once thrown forward, and brought 
into conflict with the highest ability and learning at the bar ; a con- 
flict in which subsequent results show that he has fully sustained 
himself. 

In the third year after Mr. Hayne's removal to Charleston, the astute 
and learned Henry Bailey, who had so long fllled the office of Attorney- 
General of South Carolina with signal ability, declined to be a candidate 
for re-election, and, in December, 1848, Mr. Hayne was elected by the 
General Assembly to this high and responsible position. 

In South Carolina, the judiciary, in all its departments, is still look- 
ed upon as a branch of the government of the highest dignity and 
responsibility ; consequently, both by tenure and salary^ its officers 
are made independent ; and they are generally men of the first order 
of talents, and of the greatest personal worth. The offices of law 
judge and chancellor are, in terms, "c?aw bene se r/essere,^^ and that of 
the attorney-general, though for a term o^ four years, is practically so, 
as it has been hitherto held, without opposition, at the period of re- 
election. 

The attorneys-general of South Carolina, from the period of the 
Revolution, have been as follows: John Julius Pringle, Langdon 
Cheves, John S. Richardson, Robert Y. Hayne, James L. Petigru, Hugh 
S. Legare, R. Barnwell Rhett, Henry Bailey, Isaac W. Hayne. Few 
offices in the gift of the people, or of the general assembly of any state 
— probably not one — can present, in their list of men who have filled 
them, such an array of names, alike distinguished for general and pro- 
fessional reputation. 

Mr. Hayne's mental characteristics are quick perception, acute dis- 
crimination, strong natural logic, and sound judgment. His mode of 
expression is earnest and forcible, but unadorned. His manner is self- 
possessed, and though rarely impassioned, is strikingly earnest. 

Some of the public efforts of Mr. Hayne, upon general and political 
subjects, have been considered as possessed of great rhetorical beauty 
and a high order of eloquence, but his forensic speeches, for the, most 
part, are business-like, direct, and purely argumentative; and it is xory 
rarely that he addresses either the f;xncy or the feelings of judge or jury. 
We think that we must add, that he is more remarkable for the quick- 
ness with which he acquires, and the ingenuity and power with which he 
applies, the learning appropriate to the case in hand, than for depth of 
general research, or comprehensive legal lore. 

Mr. Hayne may be considered as but mid-way in his career in the 
law, and as having before him many years of increased professional 
usefulness and distinction. He is blessed with vigorous health, and 



230 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



the claims of a very large and interesting family will probably counter- 
act the allurement of politics, and confine him to the less attractive, 
though certainly not less honorable path of professional pursuits. We 
nevertheless fear, however, that he will scarce form an exception to 
Mr. Webstei"'s epitome of the lives of distinguished lawyers in Ameri- 
ca, which, says Mr. Webster, may be expressed in eight words : they 
work hard^ live well., and die poor T We do not think, with Junius, 
however, that " a man must be rich to be happy, or even honest." The 
subject of this memoir, to all who know him personally, presents a 
living example to the contrary. We believe that there are few men 
happier^i and know that t^iere can be none more honest. 




ThTi^'TT. W-y 



\ 



HON. HENRY BUTTON, 



OF NEW-HAVEN, CONNECTICUT. 



The subject of this memoir was born in Litchfield county, Connec- 
ticut, February 12, 1796. His paternal grand ftither. Deacon Thomas 
Dutton, was engaged in actual service as a captain in the war of the 
Revolution. His father also, though a minor, was for a short time in 
the army. His mother was a lineal descendant from John Punderson, 
one of the seven pillars of the church first established in New-Haven. 
His success furnishes an illustration of the practical equality that exists 
in this country, and of the reward that uniformly repays industry and 
perseverance. From childhood until the age of sixteen, he, was en- 
gaged, except while attending a district school, in assisting his father in 
the cultivation of a small farm. This gave him a vigor of constitution, 
which has never failed in the most severe trials of a laborious profession. 
It gave him also a familiar acquaintance with the virtues and vices, the 
passions and prejudices, the acquirements and capabilities, of that por- 
tion of the community which has been aptly called the bone and sinew 
of the body politic. The knowledge thus acquired has been of essential 
service to him, both at the bar and in the halls of legislation. It enabled 
him also, in after life, to appreciate and enjoy the works of Virgil, Theo- 
critus, and others, who have so beautifully and accurately described 
the employments and pleasures of rural life. 

From early youth he has been fond of reading and study, and this 
inclination was fostered and encouraged by his father, a man of strong 
natural powers of mind, who felt severely the want of early advantages. 
He was induced to attempt the arduous task of acquiring, without 
pecuniary resources, the benefits of a liberal education, by the encour- 
agement and example of the late Rev. Aaron Dutton, at his death one 
of the Socii of Yale College, and of his brother, the late M. R. Dutton, 
Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in the same institu- 
tion. From the age of sixteen to twenty, by interchangeably keeping 
school, studying, and laboring on the farm, he qualified himself for ad- 
mission to the junior class in Yale College. In 1818 he graduated with 
the highest honors that could be awarded on such an advanced admis- 
sion. The only pecuniary aid of any amount which he received was a 
legacy from a maternal uncle of one hundred dollars. He left college, 
therefore, considerably in debt ; but he immediately took charge of the 
academy in Fairfield, which enabled him to liquidate this, and qualify 
himself for admission to the bar. He prosecuted his legal studies un- 
der the tuition of Hon. R. M. Sherman, whose friendship he enjoyed 
until his death, and whose memory he cherishes as that of one of the 
brightest ornaments of the profession. By him Mr. Dutton was carried 
back to the fountains of jurisprudence, and taught to regard Coke upon 
Littleton as a text-book, and to read Feme on Contingent Remainders 
by way of amusement. 

From 1821 to 1823 he was a tutor in Yale College, at the close of 



232 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

which engagement he established himself at Newtown, in Fairfield 
coimty, Connecticut. In the course of a few months he married Eliza- 
beth E. Joy, daughter of Captain M. Joy, and granddaughter of Rev. 
Andrew Eliot, of Boston. As the " first fruits" of the profession were 
wholly insufficient for the support of a family, he made up the deficiency 
by taking charge of a number of young men, some of whom had 
been under the care of Captain Partridge, at Middletown, and others 
had " leave of absence" from Yale College. This, for several years, con- 
tinued his familiarity with classical studies, and relieved the tedium 
usually experienced in commencing practice. After remaining fourteen 
years in Newtown, and becoming well established in business, he re- 
moved to Bridgeport, in the same county. He continued there, in full 
practice, ten years, when he received the appointment of Professor of 
Law in Yale College, and, as an associate with the Hon. C. Bissell, suc- 
ceeded the Hon. S. J. Hitchcock and Hon. J. H. Townsend in the 
charge of Yale Law School, which position he now occupies — although 
he is still engaged, to a considerable extent, in professional business. 
When Mr. D. began to practise law, he enjoyed the opportunity of wit- 
nessing some of the finest exhibitions of legal science and skill that have 
ever been displayed in the state, not to say in the country. The late 
Judge Daggett and Hon. Nathan Smith were then in the prime of life, 
and regularly attended the courts in Fairfield county. Here they met, 
or were associated with, Hon. R. M. Sherman, Hon. S. B. Sherwood, 
and Hon. C. Bissell, and subsequently the Hon. T. Betts, whose early 
death, when U. S. Senator, extinguished a brilliant genius as well as 
logical intellect. The contests of these intellectual gladiators could not 
be witnessed without interest and improvement. 

After those distinguished men, by death or otherwise, ceased from 
their labors in the profession, and especially since the lamented death of 
the late Hon. R. Booth, of Danbury, Mr. D. has been employed in 
almost all the important cases in Fairfield county, and has practised to 
a considerable extent in other counties in the state. 

He was for several years attorney for the state for the county of Fair- 
field, and has been judge of the New-Haven County Court. 

Mr. D. has been repeatedly called upon to lend his aid in modifying 
and improving the statute laws of the state. He has been five times a 
member of the House of Representatives — twice from Newtown, twice 
from Bridgeport, and once from New-Haven — and has been once a 
member of the State Senate. In 1847, he was appointed, in connection 
with Hon. L. P. Waldo and F. Fellowes, Esq., a commissioner to make 
a new revision of the statutes — they had not been revised since 1821. 
This work required of the commissioners a great amount of care and 
labor in expunging and correcting obsolete and careless phraseology, in 
incorporating acts passed since the last revision, and separating matters 
which had been improperly joined, and in reducing the whole to a sys- 
tematic arrangement. The result of their labors was approved of by 
the legislature of 1848, was published in 1849, and has given general 
satisfiiction. Among the particular laws which he has been instru- 
mental in having passed, is the act allowing, in civil cases, all persons, 
of sufficient age and capacity, to testify. This has been considered by 
?ome a measure of doubtfiil policy, at least so far as parties are con 



HENRY BUTTON, OF CONNECTICUT. 233 

cerned ; but Mr. D. holds that it promotes the investigation of truth, and 
relieves the law from the gross inconsistency of the rule allowing witnesses 
to testify under the strongest bias — from affection, relationship, party 
spirit, revenge, loss of reputation, and interest in fact, while it excludes 
a person who has only a nominal interest, and who frequently is preju- 
diced in favor of the adverse party, merely because he is a party to the 
record. In his opinion, much more danger of perjury is to be appre- 
hended from other influences than from that of mere pecuniary interest. 
He was also in fevor of the law adopted in 1850, of giving to the coun- 
sel for a prisoner the right of a closing argument to the jury. 

He thought that a person accused of a crime ought to have an oppor- 
tunity of explaining satisfactorily, if he can, not only what is proved, 
but also what is said to his prejudice ; and that, if the honesty and can- 
dor of the counsel for the prosecution can, in all cases, be safely relied 
upon to protect the prisoner from misstatements of testimony, and 
false and unfounded inferences from admitted or established facts, their 
zeal, at least, needs to be guarded against. 

lie favored a reform in pleading, so far, at least, as to allow in all 
actions one form of the general issue, and to require that all special 
matter should be pleaded specially, or that notice should be given of it 
under the general issue. 

He was in favor, also, of a law, that in actions ex contractu the 
plaintifi' shall be permitted to obtain judgment against one or more of 
several defendants, when he cannot sustain his case against all. 

He introduced a bill, which was adopted, giving to the superior 
court sole jurisdiction of all cases of divorce, thereby relieving the legis- 
lature of a mass of business that had become a nuisance and reproach. 

He aided also in the passage of a bill, prepared by the Hon. T. B. 
Butler, of Norwalk, and several other bills, securing more effectually 
the rights of married women. 

In 1848, with the assistance of N. A. Cowdrey, Esq., he published a 
revision of the first volume of Swift's Digest, and is now revising the 
second volume, in which will be introduced a Treatise on Connecticut 
Practice, and a large number of new forms. 

As a politician he has always been a decided whig. His father was 
a Jeffersonian democrat, while his other relatives, when he was young, 
chiefly belonged to the old federal party. This gave him an opportunity 
of listening to discussions of party principles, and witnessing manifes- 
tations of party feeling, which make all modern demonstrations appear 
to him like mere child's play. Under these influences he grew up with 
an instinctive abhorrenceofaristocratical feelings and distinctions. But 
he has never been able to discover how the denunciation of the rich 
tends to ameliorate the condition of the poor, nor how bread is to be 
provided for the hungry by paralyzing business and enterprise. This 
has led him, as a legislator, to support bills chartering banks whenever 
clearly shown to be demanded by the necessities of commerce or manu- 
factures, believing that they enable integrity and energy to compete 
successf«lly with influence and capital. 

He is impressed with the belief that the world grows wiser as it 
grows older ; that every succeeding generation is in a situation to profit 



234 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

by the discoveries of those which have preceded it, and that a measure 
ought not, of course, to be rejected, merely because it is new. 

He unwaveringly upholds the doctrine, that all the citizens of the 
United States are bound to maintain the constitution of the United 
States in its integrity. 

The following testimonial, addressed to the Hon. C. Bissell and him- 
self, may be regarded as proof of the satisfactory manner in which he 
discharges his present duties. 

At a meeting of the students of Yale Law School, held August 28th, 
1849, the following resolutions were unanimously passed, viz : 

" JResolved, That, for careful instruction in that profession which is to 
be at once our means of support and our road to whatever of usefulness 
and distinction is our destined share in life — for kind and courteous 
treatment of us as students, and for private acts of friendship and kind- 
ness to different individuals of our brotherhood, our hearty thanks are 
due to the professors of Yale Law School. 

" Resolved, That those of us now leaving the school, and expecting 
before long to enter on the practice of our profession, will ever look 
back to this period of our preparatory training with feelings of pleasure 
and gratitude ; and that we shall regard the time spent here, the ex- 
amples set before us of legal learning, and the high-toned and correct 
ideas of a lawyer's duties and responsibilities which we have been taught, 
as so many living pledges for efforts on our part to do in everything ac- 
cording to the full measure of our abilities and the strict requirements 
of rectitude." 




■^'■a--ai , 



V JC Hutu^j 



.DaguB"" 




^ .^^^^-^ 



_<2_ 



T^ 



LA FAYETTE S. FOSTER, LL. D., 



OF CONNECTICUT, 



The subject of the present sketch was born in the town of Franklin, 
New London county, Connecticut, a part of the ancient town of Nor- 
wich, on the 22d of November, 1806. 

His father. Captain Daniel Foster, was a man in moderate circum 
stances, of honest and industrious habits, and much respected in the 
neighborhood where he resided. Captain Foster, in company with 
most of his cotemporaries, served in the Revolutionary war, and was 
personally present and engaged at the battles of White Plains, Still- 
water, Saratoga and others of about the same period. His patriotism 
and ability were then recognized, and during the time he was in active 
service, in the campaign of '77, he held the honorable position of adju- 
tant of one of the Connecticut regiments. Col. Latimer's, discharging 
the duties connected with his office much to his own credit and the en- 
tire approval of all of his superior officers. Captain Foster was mar- 
ried in 1802 to his second wife, Welthea Ladd, of Franklin, by whom 
he had two children. Fidelia W. Foster and La Fayette S. Foster, the 
subject of these biographical details, who was born as before stated in 
1806. 

The ancestors of Mr. Foster were English, from the county of Lan- 
cashire, in England, and he is descended directly from Miles Standish, 
who came with the first band of Pilgrims in the Mayflower, and landed 
at Plymouth in 1620. With such ancestors, his remote one, the most 
distinguished captain of his time in New-England, a Pilgrim of the first 
Pilgrim band, and his immediate one, a brave and faithful officer in the 
war of the Revolution, Mr. Foster inherits as much of true greatness 
and family character as it is possible to inherit in this republican coun- 
try. An honored name, brave deeds and an unstained character were 
the legacies of the past, and the only ones which were transmitted to 
him. 

Captain Daniel Foster died January 28th, 1 824, aged 79. Mrs. Fos- 
ter, his wife, died February 11th, 1851, aged 88, having lived to see her 



236 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



son, of whom she was justly proud, attain the high position in which he 
now standi in his native state. 

Frona the time he was of suitable age to attend school until he was 
10 years old, the subject of our sketch enjoyed only those limited means 
of education, common to every boy in New-England, afforded by the 
common school. In the fall of 1822, then about 16 years of age, he 
went to Hartford and studied with the late Rev. Abel Flint, D. D. 
Dr. Flint's school was one of that class, common at that time, where a 
few pupils were received into the family of the teacher, and under his 
personal care and supervision, educated and fitted to enter college. 

He remained at Hartford about nine months, diligently improving 
all the advantages within his reach, when Dr. Flint, by reason of de- 
clining health was compelled to give up his school. 

His conduct during the time he was in Dr. Flint's family rendered 
him an especial favorite of his teachers, who showed him many favors 
and much kindness. 

During the winter of 1823 and '24 he taught school in his native 
town, although then hardly eighteen years of age. The following spring, 
in May, 1824, he again commenced his course of study and preparation 
for college with the Rev. Cornelius B. Everest, of Windham, with whom 
he remained until February, 1825, when he entered Brown University, 
in Providence. He remained in Brown University about four years, 
and was graduated at that institution in September, 1828, receiving the 
highest honors of his class. 

The winter succeeding his graduation he taught in Providence as an 
assistant in the school of Mr. Roswell C. Smith. 

The following spring he returned to Norwich and commenced the 
study of the law with the late Hon. Calvin Goddard, one of the most 
distinguished lawyers of his day in Connecticut, with whom he remained 
until December of the same year. 

He then went to Centreville, Queen Anne's county, Maryland, where 
he passed a year as principal of an academy. 

While in Centreville, he was admitted to the Maryland bar, but did 
not commence the practice of the ]aw\ 

He returned, after his admission to the bar in Maryland, to the office 
of Judge Goddard, w'ith whom he had previously studied, and continued 
his studies with him another year. At the completion of this period, 
in 1831, he w^as admitted to the bar of New-London county, Connecti- 
cut, at Norwich, and immediately afterwards opened an office and com- 
menced the practice of his profession at Norwich town. 

Ill 1833, at the solicitation of some of his friends, he removed from 
Norwich to Hampton, in Windham county, and there practised for a 
little more than a year. From Hampton he returned to Norwich city 
and opened an office, where he has remained and is still in the full 
practice of his profession. 

In the spring of 1835 he took the editorship of the Norwich Republi- 
can, a whig journal, but finding this to interfere with his rapidly increas- 
ing legal business, he soon withdrew from it to devote himself entirely 
to his profession. 

In October, 1837, he was married to Joanna Boylston Lanman, 
daughter of the Hon. James Lanman, one of the leading men of the 



LA FAYETTE S. FOSTER, OF CONNECTICUT. 237 

slate, a judge of the Supreme Court, and also a senator in Congress. 
Their union has been blessed with three children, all of whom have, in 
the course of Providence, been taken from them at an early age. 

Mr. Foster has represented his town frequently in the state legisla- 
ture from 1839 to 1840. 

In the autumn of 184G, Mr. Foster visited Europe, and passed soiiuj 
time traveling in England and on the Continent. 

In 1847 he was chosen Speaker of the House of Representatives of 
Connecticut, and again in 1848 was re-elected to the same responsible 
and honorable position. 

While Speaker, he so acquitted himself of the onerous and delicate 
duties of the office as to command the unqualified approbation of the 
entire house over which he presided. His reputation as a presiding 
officer has never been exceeded, if ever equaled by any person in the 
state. 

In the winter of 1850, Mr. Foster received the nomination of his 
party for the office of governor of the state of Connecticut, and was 
their candidate for two successive years ; after which, although strongly 
urged, he peremptorily declined a re-nomination. 

In 1851 he received a nomination by the whig party for the office 
of senator of the United States from Connecticut, to fill the seat now 
occupied by the Hon. Isaac Toucey. The whig party being in the mi- 
nority, he of course fiiiled of an election. 

In the autumn of 1851, the degree of LL. D. was conferred upon 
him at the annual commencement of Brown University. 

Pie was elected Mayor of the city of Norwich in the summer of 1851, 
and again in 1852 re-elected by a unanimous vote, not a single oppo- 
sition ballot being cast against him — a compliment as gratifying as it 
was deserved, coming as it did from those with whom he had always 
lived, and who knew him best. 

As a lawyer, Mr. Foster stands in the front rank of his profession in 
his native state. He is now in the prime of life, in the full vigor and 
strength of his mental powers, and in the enjoyment of unimpaired 
health. Mr. Foster, in the commencement of his legal studies, made a 
thorough elementary preparation, and having a retentive and disciplined 
memory, combined with a brilliant quickness or readiness of manner, 
he is enabled to make instantly available all his learning and expe- 
rience. It was in a great measure owing to these circumstances that 
he was enabled so soon to attain a commanding position in the profes- 
sion. He excels both as an advocate and as a counselor, and it is that 
happy union and blending of all the qualities necessary to a good prac- 
titioner that has made him so successful in his profession. 

His style of speaking is classic and severe, distinguished by power 
of argument, appositeness of illustration and close logical demonstni- 
tion. One of its most striking features consists in the entire sincerity 
with which he argues his cause, leaving no doubt on the minds of his 
auditory as to his own belief of the truth of what he is saying. His elo- 
cution is good, although the intonation of his voice is somewhat sharp. 

Having a fine command of the purest English, and a knowledge of 
its weight and value seldom attained, he is enabled to make his argu- 
mentative efforts the more effective from the precision and perspicuity 



238 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS, 

with which they are rendered. This makes him powerful in arguing 
intricate points of law before a court. When addressing a jury, he 
manages to fix the attention of the jurors at the outset, before P'^ig 
into the merits of the case, and steadily retains it unbroken to the end. 
His manner is perfectly self possessed, his language is in the purest 
taste, and his arguments are embellished with those graces of oratory 
which indicate the finished scholar and accomplished lawyer. He is 
thus enabled in a double manner to influence a jury both by the power 
of argument and the swaying force of eloquence. In the examination 
and cross-examination of witnesses, by reason of his strong powers of 
investigation, he is peculiarly effective, and displays a rare knowledge 
of human nature. The fast witness he checks, the timid witness he en- 
courages, the reluctant witness he draws out, and the lying witness he 
so tangles in the mazes of his own falsehoods that he strengthens the 
very cause he undertook to injure. He must needs be a skilful and 
well-disciplined liar who can come unscathed and unexposed from one 
of Mr. Foster's cross-examinations. 

Mr. Foster's highest ambition has been to excel in the line of his 
profession, to attain a thorough understanding and mastery of legal 
science, and to this end, with a singleness of purpose, he has directed 
the untiring industry and energies of a lifetime. 

Shrewd and keen, ever on the look-out to detect the weak points of 
an adversary's position, and, if open to ridicule, his ready exposure of 
the weakness frequently gives a force and influence favorable to his 
cause beyond the power of the severest logic or closest reasoning. He 
possesses the highest powers of wit, together with a keen sense of the 
ridiculous, and his retorts, on occasions suitable for displaying those 
powers, are unanswerable. Another marked feature in the professional 
career of Mr. Foster is his fiiithfulness and untiring devotion to the 
interests of his clients. No matter how trifling the amount, or how 
uncertain the ppospect of remuneration for his services, he works just 
as hard, and with the same zeal, as though the case involved large 
interests and abundant reward. His practice is very large, extending 
regularly through all the eastern counties -in Connecticut, and to a con- 
siderable extent in other portions of the state. 

The private life of the subject of this sketch has been marked by the 
strictest honor, integrity, benevolence, and justice. Although his life 
has been passed in active business among all classes of men, he has yet 
preserved a guileless simplicity of character. 

In his political experience, though ever ready to devote his time and 
talents to the party to which he belongs, yet his strength of principle 
and upright character have ever prevented his playing, in the least, the 
demagogue, and led him to an honest scorn of the means often used, 
and used successfully, too, for the attainment of place and power. He 
has ever avoided rather than sought the arena of political life, though 
always ready to assume whatever burden of duty his political friends 
might deem it expedient for him to bear. This is owing, in a great 
measure, to those genial influences which have gathered about his own 
hearth-stone, he being blessed with a companion who combines such 
rare attainments of mind and graces of character that he has ever been 
led to seek his highest happiness in his own domestic circle, a result 



JOHN PORTEK DOBYNS, OF KENTUCKV. 239 

which must inevitably have been produced upon a man of talent, learn- 
ing and refinement. 

Mr. Foster possesses, in a high degree, those social qualities which 
cluster around the finished gentleman. With a range of intelligence 
and information — the gathered product of careful study and discrimina- 
tion rarely surpassed — he adds colloquial powers of the highest order, 
a brilliant and flashing wit, and language and expression in the purest 
ta§te. In all his attainments he is modest and unpretending, but at 
the same time fearless in the expression of his own opinions, and the 
advocacy of his own views, on any subject which may chance to be 
under discussion. 

With a large charity and Christian benevolence his liberality is 
bounded only by his ability, and he gives freely to every worthy ob- 
ject for which application is made to him for assistance. Mr. Foster 
early in life connected himself with the Congregational church and 
society in Norwich town, and has ever sustained the character of a con- 
sistent Christian. Firm in his religious belief, avoiding bigotry and 
fanaticism, his aim has been to regulate his life and conduct in accord- 
ance with the doctrines and principles of Him whom he strives to 
follow, and in whom he has professed faith. 

He writes as he speaks, in a style of the tersest and most direct ex- 
pression, and in the purest English. He has on several occasions been 
called upon to lecture before colleges and literary societies and lyceums. 
On all such occasions he makes thorough preparation, elaborates with 
much thought and research, and invariably gives to his hearers a 
brilliant and profound discourse. 

Mr. Foster commenced life with only that inheritance and resource, so 
often the sole dependence of a New-England boy, viz.: himself. By a 
life of strict integrity, laborious study, energetic action, and devotion 
to the duties and business of the profession he assumed, he has raised 
himself to rank among the foremost in his native state. Beloved 
with a fervent warmth of attachment by all who know him personally, 
and respected by all men of all parties, he stands now just in the prime 
of life, at the head of his profession, in the eastern part of the state, 
and the acknowledged leader of his party. In the coming future there 
are no honors to which he may not aspire, and no place which he would 
not fill with dignity and honor to himself and credit to his state and 
country. 



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^-^ V J C B^e &m .Dag.e«eot55- 




.'^-NEW ORLEAI-:. 



Zngmvedyfor BioaraphuxiL Skaah&s of BmmenJ>^4mencans 



COLONEL WILLIAM CHRISTY, 

OF NEW ORLEANS, LA., " THE HERO OF FORT MEIGGS." 

To write a history of the living is no easy task for a friend to perforin : 
if he gives scope to his feelings in drawing a faithful portrait of his sub- 
ject, he will perhaps be accused of partiality ; and if, on the other hand, 
he endeavors to restrain his natural regard for the object of his memoir 
— lest he offend his modesty and appear fulsome — the very effort in 
itself to do so renders his language tame and lukewarm. 

To steer a middle course between these extremes will be the object of 
the writer of this biographical sketch ; and he will merely further remark, 
that he presents herein to the reader nothing that is not obtained from 
authentic documents and the recollection of those who know, and have 
long associated with the subject of this memoir. 

Colonel William Christy, of New Orleans, the subject of the following 
biographical sketch, is one of the most remarkable men of the present 
age, and would have proved himself a man of note in any that has 
preceded it; and it is with more than ordinary feelings of pleasure we 
have undertaken, with the assistance of those perfectly conversant with 
his history, the task of collecting some of the leading points in his life, 
in order to lay them before the public ; not only as a tribute due to 
himself, his relatives and friends, but that a perusal of this brief sketch 
of an eventful life may serve to stimulate every young man to " go and 
do likewise." 

Colonel Christy was born in George Town, Scott County, Kentucky, 
on the 6th day of December, 1*791. His ancestors, who were opulent 
and respectable farmers, in company with many others of the same class, 
removed from the state of Virginia at a very early period after the 
settlement of the North Western Territory, and located upon lands 
purchased or entered at and around the place of his nativity, and were 
consequently among the earliest settlers of that fertile and picturesque 
portion of the state when it was known as " the Bloody Ground." 

His mother — a lady of great personal attractions, and still more 
remarkable for the possession of all those qualities of head and heart 
which adorn the American female character — was named Mary Cave, a 
near relative of the late Colonel Richard M. Johnson (late Vice-President 
of the United States), and a lineal descendant of the Rev. William Cave, 
who was chaplain to Charles II. of England, as we find in Lempriere's 
Biographical Dictionary. Her forefathers removed from England, and 
foi-med a portion of the early settlers of the then colony of Virginia. 

His father was of Scottish descent ; and his ancestors likewise emigrated, 
to Virginia about the same period that his mother's did from Eng- 
land. He was a man of liberal, generous, and great social qualities, 
but for the possession t)f which he might have acquired an ample inde- 
pendence for his family. During the almost infancy of the Colonel, his 
father, with that restless desire of change of scene and habitation which 
was characteristic of the early settlers of the then " Far West," disposed 
of his lands in and around George Town, and removed to Boone County, 

16 



242 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

in the same state, situate upon tlie Ohio river, in the vicinity of Cincin- 
nati, where he commenced farming. Being, however, of an active and 
enterprising disposition, he again sold the bulk of his property, and 
opened upon a new career as a kind of country merchant in connexion 
with farming, which he still continued, although on a more limited scale. 
Soon after this he fell ill and died, leaving a widow and six children — 
the Colonel being next to the eldest, who was a daughter, and but 
twelve years of age. His father's business not having been a prosperous 
one, his estate proved barely sufficient to pay off his debts, leaving his 
family entirely unprovided for. 

In less than two years from this eventful period of his life, the Colonel 
had the further misfortune to lose his amiable, gifted, and devoted 
mother. Thus was he left at the early age oi fourteen years, and with- 
out any means, the head of his family and the sole support of an elder 
sister, two brothers and a younger sister, one other brother having died 
before his mother. 

The want of proper schools in Kentucky, at that early period of her 
history, was seriously felt by all classes, and the Colonel found hiinself 
and his little family of brothers and sisters with but the rudiments of an 
ordinary country-school education. This was a state of things calculated 
to crush the spirits of even manhood itself, much less that of a boy of 
fourteen : but so far from this boy giving way to hopelessness and 
despair, the very difficulties that beset his path served only to quicken 
and develope the germ of that character for determination which was 
latent within him, and to call into immediate action that talent which 
had not hitherto a field upon which to disjDlay itself. 

With that energy of purpose of which we have already spoken, and 
which has been a leading feature of Colonel Christy's character through- 
out his entire life, it required but little time for him to resolve, and 
having resolved to act, he said to himself, " I will do what I can for my 
brothers and sisters ; I will be educated, and rise to distinction and 
fortune ; nor will I rely upon the bounty of my more wealthy relatives." 
No time was wasted : to carry out these resolves he was compelled 
to labor in the field by day, and at night to become a student. But 
what progress could he hope to make in any important branches of 
education under such circumstances ; for, as before stated, there were no 
good schools in the neighborhood, and his means did not permit him to 
avail himself of those at a distance. At this, perhaps the most critical 
moment of his life, chance threw in his way a most estimable gentlemiin, 
who proved to be not only a ripe scholar, but an excellent teacher, pos- 
sessing that rare talent of imparting to others the knowledge he him- 
self had acquired. Our youthful aspirant engaged this gentleman as his 
private teacher, or usher, as they were termed in those days. The 
master soon felt the liveliest interest in his pupil, and did not cease his 
instructions until he had prepared him for the study of the law, upon 
which he entered during the year ISll. 

Years rolled on whilst he was laboring — physically for bread to sus- 
tain the body, and mentally to furnish food for that master mind which 
has now few superiors. 

A thousand incidents of an interesting and thrilling character, which 
occurred during his minority, might be here cited as illustrative of the 



WILLIAM CHRISTY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA. 243 

difficulties lie had to surmount in order to accomplish the object of 
his ambition; it would, however, swell this sketch to too great a length, 
and we must therefore leave them to the imagination of the reader. 

From the political aspect of things at this time (1811), it was evident 
that a war between Great Britain and this country was inevitable; and 
accordingly war was actually declared by Congress on the 18th day of 
June, I8I2. 

In anticipation of this occurrence many volunteer companies were 
formed throughout the state of Kentucky, to be in readiness to take the 
field at a moment's warning. Of these companies was one raised by 
Captain Uriel Sebree, in Boone County, where our young law-student 
resided, the first one organized in the state, and young Christy's was 
the first name enrolled upon the list thereof; he therefore may be said 
to have been the very first volunteer in the gallant state of Kentucky 
who shouldered a rifle to uphold the American name and honor in the 
Second War of Independence, as it might be called. 

Subsequently, with a view of prosecuting his studies to greater advan- 
tage, Christy lixed his residence at George Town, Kentucky — his birth- 
place — and as Sebree's company, to which he had previously attached 
himself, was not called into active service until a year after its formation, 
he joined the army at a different point. This company, however, greatly 
distinguished itself at the battle and mnssacre of the river Raisin, as will 
appear in the course of this sketch. 

We now enter upon the military career of the " young hero of Fort 
Meiggs," for such was the appellation he earned at the memorable siege 
of that fort. 

Young Christy was seated upon a bridge near the Great Crossings, — 
a beautifully romantic spot in the vicinity of George Town, — engaged in 
the study of Blackstone, when the mail carrier dashed past, having the 
word '' War," in prominent characters, posted upon his hat. The book 
fell from the hands of the student, and was at once replaced by the sword 
and rifle. He lost no time in reaching the scene of active operations, and 
was at once selected by General Harrison, who had been a neighbor of 
his father's and knew him intimately, for staft'-duty. 

At the siege of Fort Meiggs he was the acting quarter-master and 
store-keeper, and had charge of all the public property and stores of 
whatever description. He also served as aide-de-camp to General Har- 
rison, and in these several capacities was much exposed and greatly dis- 
tinguished himself during the entire continuance of the siege, — which 
lasted twelve days and nights, — not only bv his promptness in the dis- 
charge of his numerous duties, but by his deliberate coolness in the midst 
of the danger which met them on every side. He never missed an op- 
portunity of using his rifle upon the Indians, when at times thej'' ap- 
proached the fort near enough to come within range of his weapon, and 
at least one of tlieir wari'iors was seen to fall beneath his unerring aim. 

The fort was closely besieged by a combined force of 4,000 British 
troops and Indians, commanded by General Proctor, — the Indian force 
being under the immediate command of the celebrated warrior-chief 
Tecumseh. 

Against this force, the Americans had but 1,400 men — regulars and 
volunteers — for the defence of the fort, with very limited munitions of 



244 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

war and other necessary means of defence ; added to all of wliich, the 
stock of provisions in the fort was quite small. 

The privations and sufferings of the besieged were of a terrible charac- 
ter, but they were borne with that fortitude, and even cheerfulness, which 
never forsakes freemen when battling in defence of their homes and 
rights ; a striking and encouraging example being set them by the Com- 
mander-in-Chief and his youthful aide. 

At length, when all hope of succor had almost abandoned them, a re- 
inforcement of Kentucky militia, under the command of General Green 
Clay, by descending the Miami River, arrived in the neighborhood of 
the fort undiscovered by the enemy, and encamped a few miles above. 

The fort, as it has been called, was situate upon the banks of the Miami 
River, and consisted of an area of some seven acres, inclosed by pickets ; 
which afforded but a partial protection against even musket or rifle 
balls. 

At midnight of the 4th May, 1813, a messenger fi-om General Green 
Clay descended the river in a canoe, and reached the fort without the 
knowledge of the enemy, bringing the welcome intelligence of the arrival 
of the above-named reinforcement, which had been so anxiously expected 
for several days. In anticipation of its earlier arrival. General Harrison 
had matured his plans for striking a decisive blow in order to relieve the 
fort from a further continuance of the siege. 

At the commencement of this siege two batteries had been erected by 
the enemy : the one, directly in front of the fort, on the opposite bank 
of the river, at a distance of about 800 yards ; the other, in the rear of 
the fort, at a less distance. The exact position of things, as well as the 
plan of attack intended to be made by General Harrison on the follow- 
ing morning, was minutely explained to the messenger of General Clay, 
who, after receiving the written orders to that oflBcer, departed before 
daylight by the route he had come, and arrived at his destination in 
safety. 

A portion of General Clay's reinforcement consisted of a regiment com- 
posed of the flower of Kentucky's most gallant sons, commanded by Colo- 
nel Dudley, of Lexington, Kentucky. General Clay was ordered to detail 
this regiment for the following special service : — The men to be landed 
from (;anoes, at a given hour the next morning, near the battery, on the 
opposite bank of the river ; which after storming, destroying the gun-car- 
riages, and spiking the cannon, they were to return to their canoes, and 
cross over to the fort as expeditiously as possible. As we have already 
observed, these orders were given minutely, and a strict observance of 
them enjoined, as General Harrison was well assured in his own mind 
that this could easily be accomplished without endangering the regiment 
of Colonel Dudley ; as the British force left in charge of the battery was 
barely sufficient to man the guns eftectively, the main force of the enemy 
being encamped some two miles below. 

General Clay was further directed to effect a simultaneous landing 
with the remainder of his forces a short distance above the fort, into 
which he was to cut. his way through the Indians under Tecumseh, and 
who occupied a position between him (General Clay) and the fort. 

The order to Colonel Dudley was promptly and successfully executed 
without the loss of a man on his part ; but such was the enthusiasm of 



WILLIAM CHRISTY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA. 245 

his gallant band, that he found it impossible to keep them together so as 
to ett'ect the required re-embarkation in order to cross to the fort, and be- 
fore any steps could be taken for this purpose, the large reserve of the 
British force marched up the distance of two miles, and falling upon this 
scattered regiment, the result was inevitable : after a sharp and severe con- 
flict, in which the Kentuckians behaved with great bravery and firmness 
— many of their number having fallen, with their gallant colonel at tlioir 
head — and others being wounled — they were forced to yield to overpow- 
ering numbers, and surrendered to the enemy. 

At the same moment of this attack, General Clay, in obedience to or- 
ders, landed the remainder of his command above the fort and fought his 
way successfully through Tecumselfs Indian force, sustaining but a trifling 
loss, and entered the fort. 

Another part of General Harrison's well digested plan of attack was, 
that simultaneous with these respective movements of General Clay and 
Colonel Dudley, a sortie was to be made from the fort to carry the bat- 
tery planted in the rear of it, which was effected by one of the most bril- 
liant charges ever made in any country. Out of the small force defend- 
ing the fort, but 360 men could be spared for this perilous service, and 
they hastily selected from the various corps at a moment's notice. 

For the proper protection of the fort, the timber had been previously 
felled to some distance, and to the width of 500 or 600 yards ; the bat- 
tery of the enemy being erected upon the edge of this clearing, and de- 
fended bv a force of British regulars and Indians, some 1,200 strong. 

This little Spartan band of 360 Americans was commanded and led by 
the late Colonel Miller, who formed them in line of battle on the cleared 
space outside the fort, and marched them in regular order to within thirty 
or forty paces of the batteries, without a shot being fired on either side. 
The enemy, as was afterwards learned from the prisoners taken, having 
counted this small force as it crossed the open plain, intended, as they 
said, " to make a breakfast spell of them," by capturing the entire com- 
mand ; and accordingly gave orders not to open the first fire. This was 
precisely what the detachment would have chosen had they had the 
choice of directing the battery ; as they themselves had received orders 
not to waste a shot. On arriving within thirty or forty paces of the bat- 
tery, as we have previously stated, the word "7?re" was given, and a more 
deadly volley was never poured out from the same number of pieces : a 
charge was then ordered to be niade, but there were few of the enemy left 
to withstand it ; that one terrible fire had done its work, and they were 
defeated. Victory was not, however, so easily secured on the enemy's 
left, and on the right of the American line. 

Of the sortie party of 360 men, a company of militia, commanded by 
Captain William Sebree (a brother of Captain Uriel Sebree, mentioned in 
a previous part of this sketch), formed a part, and as they marched out 
of the fort, yomig Christy shouldered his I'ifle, and fell into the ranks 
as a volunteer for the occasion ; — many of those composing this com- 
pany being his friends and relatives, and the captain himself, a cousin 
of his. 

To eflfect this purpose he had to leave the Commander-in-Chief by 
stealth, as he had been directed by him to keep near his person at all 
times during the siege, as from the daring courage and activity displayed 



246 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

by this yomio- man, lie had found him extremely useful on every occasion 
where he had required his services. 

Captain Sebree's company occupied the extreme right of the line at 
the moment of the attack upon the battery, and Tecumseh, with his 
entire Indian force, having become disengaged from the conllict with 
the command of General Clay, had time to march down the few hundred 
yards intervening, and engaged this end of the American line. In doing 
so, with that soldierly skill — far surpassing ordinary savage cunning — 
for which he was celebrated, the wily chief divided his force, keeping 
but a comparatively small portion of it to meet the onset of the charge 
in front, and reserving the remainder for a coup de-main. His plan for 
a time was successful, for as soon as he discovered that the battle raged 
along the entire line, he led this large reserve in the rear of Sebree's 
company, by which movement it was at once inclosed on three sides by 
an overpowering foi'ce, numbering four or five to one : — Captain Sebree 
being in front, gallantly leading the charge, and in which his clothes 
were pierced by seven bullets. Christy faced about, and called upon 
those still within reach of his voice to join him in repulsing the insidious 
foe in the rear. About one third of the company promptly answered to 
the call, and placed themselves under his lead. 

All this took place in much less time than we can recount it. The 
struggle v.'hich ensued at this point, was one of the most severe and bloody 
ever witnessed on any battle field in this country ; and it might very 
properly have been termed, " a hand to hand encounter." 

The Indians, conscious of their great supei'iority of numbers, pressed 
upon this handful of Americans, some of whom fell at every fire, and 
Tecumseh approached within fifteen or twenty paces of the spot where 
our young leader stood, and who had then received two wounds, which 
fortunately did not disable him. 

Christy now discovered that his little band had all fallen but himself 
and two others, one of whom, a moment after, was shot thi'ough the body, 
and fell against him. There remained now but one means by which he 
could hope to escape, and that was by outrunning them ; he remembered 
that in contests of foot-races with the Indians, he had never been de- 
feated by his red-skin competitors. Having soon made up his mind 
to this course, he set about its execution : throwing his rifle into the 
palm of his hands, he made his bow to Tecumseh and started, pursued 
by the whole of his savage force, who had none to contend against at 
that point, as the remainder of Sebree's company had steadily pushed 
forward to the attack upon the battery in trout, and were consequently 
not within reach of this poi'tion of the enemy in the rear. 

It now became manifest to Christy, that the object of his treacherous 
foe was to cut him ofl:* from the main line, from which he had been 
separated. The Indians were on his left wlien this race for life com- 
menced — for such it was, as he had not only to outrun them, but to 
receive a constant cross-fire, which the Red Devils kept up as they ran. 
His exceeding fleetness of foot, however, for which he was remarkable 
even later in life, enabled him, after a severe run of 700 or 800 yards, to 
leave his pursuers behind, when they gave up the chase, thus insuring 
his safety. 

Meanwhile, the battery having been taken, and victory rendered com- 



WILLIAM CHRISTY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA, 211 

plete on the left, it enabled a portion of the American force nearest the 
scene of action to become disengag-ed, with which, as Christy had hoped, 
he fortunately fell in. To tell of his escape and demand aid for the 
rescue of the remainder of Sebree's company from their jierilous situation, 
was but the work of a moment. His appeal was heartily responded to , 
and with this reinforcement, composed principally of some regulars of 
Captain Croghan's company, a portion of Lieutenant Gwynn's command, 
and a few of that noble and gallant company, the Petersburg volunteers, 
without taking time to rest, he retraced his steps to the scene from 
which he had so recently tied, and again encountered that redoubtable 
chieftain, Tecumseh. Here occurred another severe conflict, in which 
more than a dozen of the enemy and several of the whites fell. 

The tables were now turned, and Tecumseh, finding himself compelled 
to give way to the impetuosity of the youthful leader, who led the charge 
with bayonets, retreated. 

It thus became our hero's turn to pursue, which he did with much 
eagerness, when the order to retreat reached him, which he was reluc- 
tantly forced to obey — and at a moment, too, when he had the foe in 
his power, and was burning to revenge his friends who had fallen around 
him. The work, however, was done, and the triumph complete. 

But for this timely succor, so opportunely presenting itself, the ad- 
vance of Sebree's company would undoubtedly have been cut off, and 
massacred by the savages. The way back to the fort was now rendered 
free, and the shattered remnants of this gallant company, one half of 
which had been killed or wounded, returned over the spot which had so 
recently been occupied by the warriors of Tecumseh, 

On his way back to the fort, Christy stumbled upon one of his com- 
panions who had been shot through the lungs and left for dead ; but 
finding him still alive, he took him upon his back and carried him into 
the fort, where he ultimately recovered. Nor did he leave behind him 
his trusty rifle, which had that day, as before, done such good service 
(for he was seen to bring to the ground two of the savages), but bore it 
safely into the fort, as a trophy. 

From this time, until the close of General Harrison's campaign, this 
vouno- man was known throuo-hout the armv, as the "Hei'o of Foit 
Meiggs." 

Among many flattering testimonials which could be offered in support 
of the above narrative, is the following extract of a letter from General 
Harrison to Colonel Richard M. Johnson, dated October 31, 1834, which 
we copy from a printed report of the committee on claims of the House 
of Representatives, of which Elisha Whittlesey was chairman. 

" But these peaceful labors were not calculated to satisfy his chival- 
rous spirit, and the ardent thirst for military fame which had induced 
him to abandon his studies and assume the military habit. Eveiy mo- 
ment which he could spare from the care and distribution of the public 
stores, was employed upon the lines, where he often exposed himself to 
the enemy's fire, from his desire to retaliate upon them with his rifle : it 
was, however, on the eventful 5th of May, that occasion was presented 
to him to distinguish himself in a manner more to his taste, by a close 
conflict with the enemy. A sortie having been ordered to dislodge the 
enemy from the position on our right flank, composed of Regulars and 



248 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

twelve months' volunteers, I directed a company of Kentucky Riflemeo, 
commanded by Captain Sebree, to join the detachment, to cover its right 
flank in the attack of the British Batteries. In its advance, this company 
fell in with the mass of the Indian force, commanded by Tecumseh — in 
the conflict that ensued, it was soon surrounded by the Indians, and was 
forced to divide itself, one part pursuing the enemy to the front, whilst 
the other, under the command of Christy, faced about and engaged the 
Indians in the rear. This gallant little band were, however, overpowered, 
and all but two, and its heroic leader, killed — with these two, himself 
slightly wounded, Christy broke through the enemy's line, and joined 
the Regular Troops." 

The Report goes on to say, " He so distinguished himself, on the same 
day, under the command of Lieutenant Gwynn, who commanded a 
company in the 19th Regiment, that General Harrison recommended 
him to the Executive, and he received the appointment of Second Lieu- 
tenant in the army." 

There is a slight mistake of facts in this part of the Report, as it was 
the second fight with the reinforcement, to which allusion is made, and 
the true history of which has been previously given in this sketch. 

In connexion with the subject of the siege, defence, and relief of Fort 
Meiggs, it is deemed due to the memory of General Harrison, as one of 
the oldest and truest of our hero's friends, to refer to the treatment he 
received from the War Department towards the close of his campaign, 
caused principally, as was said, and believed at the time, by the defeat 
of Colonel Dudley's Regiment, which was seized upon by Mr. Armstrong, 
then Secretary at War, to prove that General Harrison was not a military 
man. In order to wound the pride and self-respect of the General, and 
force him to resign, the secretary resorted to the most unprecedented 
and unmilitary course of conduct ; such as issuing orders direct to infe- 
rior ofiicers under the command of General Harrison, and serving at the 
time in his division of the army, which, according to all military rules 
and precedents, should have come through him as the Commander-in- 
Chief. 

Xo sufficient reason having been given for this departure from 
military usage, it eft'ected the purpose it was designed to ; for General 
Hairison, feeling that he had been outraged, threw up his commission in 
disgust. 

From several sources, an attempt was made to charge General Har- 
rison with extravagance in the expenditure of money during his cam- 
paign ; but all such charges have been so conclusively proved to have 
been founded either in error or malice, that they have long since passed 
away and been forgotten. 

Public opinion at the time fixed upon him, as most deserving of the 
appointment of Commander-in-Chief, and which he so richly merited, 
but it was thwarted by the acts of those high in office. 

After a lapse of nearly thirty years, however — in 1840 — the people of 
this Union arose in their might and majesty to do justice to the long 
neglected veteran; then it was that his own young friend and compa- 
nion in arms (the subject of this sketch) abandoned for a time his peace- 
-''ul and happy home, and mounted the rostrum in defence of his old 
commander ; for, being the only then living witness cognisant of all the 



WILLIAM CHRISTY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA. 249 

facts connected with the " Dudley Defeat," he could defend him (Gen. 
Harrison) witli truth. 

Colonel Christy's first speech in this cause, so dear to his heart, was 
made in the great Convention held at the city of Nashville, a report of 
which, as published at the time, has been deemed not out of ])lace in 
this memoir, as well on account of its genuine simplicity and truthful- 
ness, as being one of the strongest testimonials anywhere to be found, of 
the character and merits of General Harrison. 

We are indebted to a friend for a printed copy of this speech, of which 
the reporter thus wrote at the time, to the editor of the " Louisiana 
Advertiser :" — 

" General Leslie Combs succeeded Mr. Grimsby, and in the course of 
his address, alluded to the fact of the flags which were seen by him 
floating on the batteries of Fort Meiggs, when he, as the messenger of 
General Green Clay to General Hari'ison, was repulsed by the Indians, 
and which enabled him to carry back to Gen. Clay the news that the 
fort had not surrendered. Mr. Foster, the President of the Convention, 
then introduced to the auditory, Colonel William Christy of New Orleans, 
as the identical soldier who nailed those banners to the ramparts by 
order of Gen. Harrison. This happy incident excited much feeling in 
the assembly, and for some minutes the cheers and shouts of the hearers 
prevented the speaker from proceeding. Silence at length being obtained, 
several demanded again the name of the speaker, when Mr. Foster intro- 
duced him a second time. Li less than twenty minutes the Colonel 
explained his connexion with the matter of the flags, and proved by his 
evidence, that the orders given to Colonel Dudley, and in part disobeyed 
by that gallant but unfortunate ofticer, ought to have advanced Gen. 
Harrison to the command of the United States army. I will send you 
a sketch of his speech ; it was the Colonel's best effort. There is no 
man in New Orleans who speaks more to the point and purpose than 
Col. Christy : his speech here, was precisely what it should have been, 
and that is the highest compliment can be paid an orator. 

" Col. Christy's speech has produced an excellent efi'ect in Nashville, 
amongst the old supportei's of Jackson. As regards the exposition of 
the facts connected with the Sit-ge of Fort Meiggs, it is valuable in an 
historical point of view :— it will be published in Cincinnati in pamphlet 
form, and I feel satisfied it will do much good wherever it is read." 

" COLONEL WILLIAM CHRISTY's SPEECH AT THE NASHVILLE CONVENTION '. 
BEING A VINDICATION OF GENERAL HARRISON. 

" Colonel Christy addressed the Convention in substance as follows : — 
" Friends and fellow countrymen : — I crave your indulgence for a few 
moments, assuring you, at the same time, that I shall not inflict upon 
you a set speech at this late hour (applause), though I do sometimes 
appear as a speaker at home, in my own humble way, on behalf of the 
cause which has brought us together on this day. 

" I am happy to inform you that my own state, gallant Louisiana, has 
redeemed herself. She has fired the morning gun in the great contest 
now pending between the people and their servants, who are ruling over 
this bleeding country, and it is with more than ordinary pleasure that I 
point to the motto on her banner, a banner which I had the honor of 



250 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

bearing in the procession, on yesterday : — ' Louisiana ! — to each of hei 
sister states, greeting : — Go and do thou likewise !' (Great applause). 

" Some of the allusions made by my old compatriot in arms, who has 
just preceded me, have brought me unexpectedly before you in the 
attitude of an eye-witness to testify to some of the facts which he has 
stated (cheering). It is true, my countrymen, that I had the honor of 
being by the side of the hero of Tippecanoe, during some of the most 
trying periods of his military life, and I look upon the present movement 
as one of the most happy of my existence, that I have been spared in 
common with a few of my old companions in arms, to be permitted to 
stand forth to-day, as a living witness of the skill, tlie patient endurance 
and tirmness, the patriotism and the valor displayed by General Harrison 
in times that tried men's souls (shouts of applause). 

" It is true, fellow-citizens, that when the first gun was fired upon 
Fort Meiggs by the enemy, at the commencement of the siege. General 
Harrison called me to his side (for I was acting quarter-master, and had 
charge of all the public stores and flags), and said : — ' Sir, — go and nail 
a banner on every battery, where they shall wave as long as an enemy 
is in view !' (immense cheering). I did so, and with this right hand, I 
did nail a flag upon every battery, not one of which was struck, except 
by the balls of the enemy, until victory had perched upon them (tre- 
mendous cheering). 

I promised, fellow citizens, not to make a set speech (cries of 'go on'), 
but I must take the liberty of explaining two or three facts connected 
with the siege of Fort Meiggs, and which have not been, so far as I have 
seen, properly brought to light. 

" By the special order of the General, I was at his side night and day 
during this memorable siege, and I am proud to declare, in the presence 
of this great convention and to the woi'ld, that there was no skulking, 
no shrinkino- from danger on his part (applause), but on the contrary, his 
smiling and encouraging countenance was seen in every part of the fort. 
His addresses to the soldiers, from time to time, were such as to inspire 
the most timid with confidence ; and his example in braving danger such 
as to give courage even to the coward, had one been present : — But to 
the point. 

" When the messenger (Lieutenant Hamilton) from General Clay's 
reinforcement reached the fort, I was present, and lieard every word that 
passed between him and the General. The plan of attack for relieving 
the fort, was the prompt and sole work of the General himself. There 
were British batteries on either side of the fort, playing upon it by cross 
fire ; the river intervening between those on one side and the fort, and 
an open plain between us and the enemy's cannon on the other. The 
General was aware that the main force of the enemy on the opposite 
side of the river was encamped nearly two miles below his batteries, in 
which there were only men enough to properly man the guns. He 
therefore sent an ordei- to General Clay, to land Dudley's regiment on 
the opposite side of the river from the fort, with directions to storm the 
enemy's batteries, to spike and cut down his cannons, retreat to their 
boats, and cross the river immediately to the fort, which he observed could 
be done without the loss of a single man, and which must be done, as he 
had no force that could be spared from the fort to send to their aid in 



I 



WILLIAM CHRISTY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA. £>51 

case of need. It was also explained to tlie messenger, that a sortie would 
be made from the fort at the same moment, and the batteries on the side 
of the plains would be stormed. This was done in the most gallant style. 
Then it was that the American ar)ns were comi)letely victorious ; and 
had Colonel Dudley obeyed the whole orders sent to him, as was expected, 
the 5th May, 1813, would have been one of the most glorious days in the 
military history of the country, during thu last war. But fate decrevd 
otherwise, at least so far as Colonel L)udley and his gallant rigiment were 
concerned : — for, after having executed the orders of tiie General, by 
storming the batteries and spiking and cutting down the cannon, without 
the loss of a man ; the brave Dudley found himself incapable of drawing 
oft" the impetuous Kentuckians, who had not yet had an opportunity of 
engaging in battle. The result was, such as you all know ; the total 
defeat and capture of his regiment, by the British troops, who had 
marched up, after the destruction, of the batteries, from their camp below, 
as was anticipated by General Harrison when he issued the order for the 
regiment to cross the river by all means immediately after executing their 
work. It may be well to observe here, that victory h;id ci'owned the 
sortie made from the fort, before the unfortunate issue on the opposite 
side of the river. I am, perhaps, the only living witness who heard the 
General deliver his plans and orders to Lieutenant Hamilton, the messen- 
ger. Everything was clearly explained : the absolute necessit}^ of a 
prompt retreat on the part of Dudley, after spiking the enemy's cannon, 
was pointed out. In the energetic manner peculiar to the Genei'al him- 
self, he said to Lieutenant Hamilton : — ' Tell your commander, that these 
orders are to be obeyed, at the hazard of his life !' (Great applause.) 

"I have now shown you, fellow ciliztns, that so far as this order was 
obeyed, victory was ours on both sides of the river, and the foil relieved 
from the only regular siege which took place during the last war ; and 
relieved, too, by the exertions of an inferior force undei' the unparalleled 
skill displayed by the Commander-in-Chief, in his plan, which I have 
tried to explain to you. It has been my foitune, also, to bi-ai' arms under 
the celebrated generals. Brown and Jackson. I have read something of 
the historv of military men, who have gone before us, and so far as my 
feeble judgment enables me to decide, I challenge the historian to pro- 
duce, from the orders and plans of Alexander himself, of Marlboro', 
Bonapai'te, Wellington, or from those of any American Captain, one 
which, considering the extent of it, displays more military skill and judg- 
ment, than this of Gen. Harrison's, for the relief of Fort Meiggs. I will 
here ask, what would have been the fate of the Generals just named, if 
they had been held responsible for all results, whether their orders Avere 
obeved or not ? The answer is plain ; and yet General Harrison has 
been arraigned, and compelled to father the responsibility of the act 
which led to the defeat of Dudley — a resi)onsibility never before required 
of any general ! But whilst the aniners and sappers of the enemy were 
unable to demolish the fort, — defended by a handful of men under the 
immediate command of that great and good man, — there were i>olitical 
miners and sappers at the White House, who seized upon the circum- 
stance to wliich I have alluded, — disobedience on the part of Dudley, — 
as a pretext by which they were enabled to lay the hero of Tijjpecanoe 
on the shelf as a military man, with a view of advancing silk stocking 



252 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

favorites ! For a time tliey succeeded in Winding- the eyes of the people ; 
but the people are at last waking up in the majesty of their power, to 
vender justice to that much injured patriot aud soldier, who should have 
been elevated to the Commander-in-Chief of the Array of the United 
States, for the skill alone displayed in his order to Colonel Dudley, if for 
no other cause ! (Tremendous cheering.) 

" It is due to myself, fellow citizens, before I close, to give a brief 
explanation of the causes which have placed me in the position which I 
now occupy. It is well known to many of you, that I have been a warm 
supporter of General Jackson ; and that I even voted for Mr. Van Buren. 
I am found in the Whig ranks to day ; — not that I respect tlie less that 
great General and defender of his country on the plains of Chalmette — 
but that I love my country more. When the first attack was made upon 
the currency of the country, my fears were alarmed for the result. Effects 
followed causes in rapid succession, until the only circulating medium 
we had in the country was destroyed, our commerce paralysed, our rich, 
valuable, and productive fields were laid waste, and the energies and 
enterprise of this great people prostrated at the feet of executive power, — 
a people whose canvas had whitened every sea, and the impress of whose 
footsteps had been seen iu every land. Believing as I then did, and as 
I now do, that these results were the effect of a mistaken policy in the 
administration of our national affairs, there was but one couise left for 
a man of honor to pursue ; for one whe feels a deep interest in the 
prosperity of his native land ; and that course I have adopted — whether 
for weal or for woe, time alone can decide. (Applause.) I hold it to be 
the imperative duty of every free-born American boldly to come forward 
whenever a crisis like the present one occurs in the practical affairs of 
the country, and to give his whole support to the cause of the people, 
how feeble soever that support may be. (Cheers.) And now, ray 
countrymen, let me appeal to you with the voice of one whose age and 
experience have entitled hini, in your kind estimation, to be heard in this 
Convention, to redouble your exertions in the great contest before us, 
with the assurance that on your conduct will depend, in an eminent 
degree, the success of the cause under whose banners you have enlisted." 

Colonel Christy sat down amidst ^fcat cheers, and cries of "Go on — 
go on. 

On the close of the Convention, Colonel Christy left Nashville in 
company with Mr. Clay, Mr. Crittenden, and other distinguished politi- 
cians and public speakers, and by special invitation joined General 
Harrison at his residence at North Bend, a few days before the General 
was to start upon his tour through the State of Ohio. Here again, as at 
Fort Meiggs, the General desired him to become his raere travelling- 
companion, to which the Colonel readily consented ; and in upwards of 
one hundred speeches, delivered in various parts of the state, never failed 
to carry conviction to the rainds of every one, of the great injustice 
which had been done his old comraander. 

On the announcement of Colonel Christy's name to address the people, 
he was always greeted with most hearty cheers. At the request of 
General Harrison himself, he followed him in his address at the great 
meeting held at Dayton, Ohio, at which there were upwards of 130,000 
people assembled. On this occasion his speech was said to be more than 



WILLIAM CHRISTY, OF NEW OKLEAXS, LA. 0.53 

usually felicitous, and without disparagement to others, was declared to 
be the most effective and eloquent one delivered. 

The result of this campaign is familiar to all; and General Harrison 
having- been elevated to the highest i)lace in the gift of any people in the 
world — the Presidential chair — mindful of his early young friend, and 
with a view to avail himself of his talents and firmness, and likewise as 
a tribute due to the Colonel f(5r eminent services rendered his country 
and the Whig cause, tendered him the choice of any office within his 
bestowal as President of the United States. 

Flattering as was this office, it was respectfully declined, for reasons 
which will appear hereafter. 

To leave this somewhat lengthy digression from the regular order of 
our narrative, into which we have been led by our defence of General 
Harrison, we will resume the thread thereof, and endeavor to proceed in 
more regular order. 

So soon as the affiiir of Fort Meiggs was known at Washington City, 
the "young hero," as he was familiarly called, was a[)pointed by the 
President a Lieutenant in the old 1st Regiment of United States Intantry. 

After the close of General Harrison's campaign, which terminated with 
the glorious victory of the Thames, Lieutenant Christy was ordered to 
join his regiment at Sacketl's Harbor, where he proceeded, after Inning 
nursed, until convalescent and enabled to travel to Congress, his lamented 
kinsman, Colonel R. M. Johnson, who had been suffering from no less 
than five severe wounds, received at the battle of the Thames, where 
with his own hands he slew Christy's old foe, Tecumseh. 

The campaign of General Harrison was brought to a close by this 
brilliant victory. 

Shortly after, havino- ioined his regiment at Sackett's Harbor, Christy 
was appointed by General Brown, then in command ot that post, adjr,- 
tant to the 1st and 23d regiments, which had been consolidated. By 
his gentlemanly and soldierly bearing, the prompt discharge of his 
duties, and the strict discipline maintained in his command, he soon 
attracted the attention of his new commander, with whom he .speedily 
became as great a favorite as he had been with his old. 

About this time, smuggling to a very great extent was carried on 
betw^een Canada and the State of New York, in and around Ogdensburg, 
and several officers, both civil and military, who had been dispatched to 
the latter place to prevent these frauds upon the revenue of the country, 
had got into great trouble. 

General Brown, being determined if possible to break up this illicit 
trade, concluded to send down to the scene of these operations a detach- 
ment of men under the command of a skilful and prudent officer, the 
force to be stationed at Ogdensburg. This detachment was composed 
of picked men, selected from the various companies forming the i-egi- 
ment. To select the officer for this command was a matter of much 
more difficulty than the selection of the men comprising it; and as the 
duty was well known to be a responsible and perilous one, every platoon 
officer in the fort was a candidate for it. General Brown, who w as an ex- 
cellent judge of both men and officers, did not long hesitate, and his choice 
fell upon Lieutenant Christy, who being a comparative stranger at the fort, 
and younger thau most of the others, the selection occasioned much 



254 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

dissatisfaction and jealousy; wliicli carae near resulting in personal diffi- 
culties. 

Christy having received his instructions and been sworn in as an 
Inspector of the Customs, proceeded with his command and took up his 
station at a small village called Wilna, within a few miles of Ogdens- 
burg. This was in mid-winter, and snow upon the ground to the depth 
of five or six feet. In order the more fully to accomplish the purpose 
for which he had been detailed, he placed sentinels at all those points of 
the roads at which travellers had to pass on account of the great depth 
of the snow; all of wdiom were subjected to a rigid examination of their 
goods and baggage. This course did not fail to create a great deal of 
excitement with all, and more especially amongst those engaged in the 
prosecution of this contraband trade, and who were generally men of 
capital. The young officer, in consequence, soon found himself in 
trouble, owing to the strict manner in which he enforced his regulations, 
and he was actually forced to inflict personal chastisement upon some 
\vho had adopted an offensive insolence of conduct towards him, with a 
view to provoke an assault, in order to bring him before a civil tribunal 
on such a charge. 

On this occurring, he refused to be arrested by tlie civil authorities, 
until the citizens of the place, to whom he was a stranger, came forward 
and offered to become his bail, when he submitted, and was accordingly 
admitted to bail in a large sum. They did not, however, gain much "by 
this annoying course, as upon a recurrence of such wanton conduct, he 
did not hesitate to meet the occasion promptly as he had previously 
done. Whilst thus engaged in protecting the revenue, he made many 
seizures, embracing a large amount of property, and was still engaged 
in the dischai'ge of these duties, when news that peace had been made 
was received at head-quarters, and he was ordered to return to his regi- 
ment. During the time he was occupied on this special service, many 
things were constantly occurring of a character calculated to try the 
tempei', courage, talents, and honesty of a much older officer, and 
which it would be too tedious to present here ; suffice to say, that 
Christy's conduct was highly approved by General Brown, At the 
special term of the Watertown Court, young Christy appeared, prepared 
to defend himself against the numerous suits that had been brought for 
assault and battery, alleged to have been committed at Wilna whilst 
engaged in the discharge of his duties. But a single one of these cases 
came to trial, which, resulting in Christy's favor, afforded the prose- 
cuting attorney an excuse for entering a nolle j^'^'O'iequi in the others, 
when Christy walked out of court in full uniform, and was greeted Avith 
three cheers by the citizens of the place. 

As we are in possession of a copy of the detachment orders issued by 
young Christy during this period, we insert them as characteristic of 
the since matured man. 

"DETACHMENT ORDERS. 

" W'tlna, January 21, 1815. 
" A sentinel will be placed before the door of Mr. Steward's tavern, 
for the purpose of hailing all sleighs, waggons, and carriages, of what- 



WILLIAM CIIRISTV, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA. 255 

ever kind, passing either way, and causing them to stop ; when he will 
immediately inform the commanding officer of the detachment of such 
detention. This will bo done by a regular detail made by the Orderly- 
Sero-eant. He is also to furnish morning reports of the dotachnient. 

" No man except tlie orderly is to be seen more than 100 yards from 
the barracks without permission. The Orderly-Sergeant will be held 
responsible for the cleanliness and good order of the detachment, lie 
will see that every man's arms and accoutrements are in complete firing 
order — furnished with a good flint, ckc. 

"The parades will take place at 12 M. and at tatoo, when the roll 
will be called and reports made thereon. 

''It will be the duty of the corporal to attend to the placing and re- 
lieving of the guards. 

'' The sentinel will hail all carriages passing after tatoo, and demand 
the countersign ; which if not given, he will detain them and call for the 
corporal of the guard. 

'■ The Orderly -Sergeant will parade the men at 12 o'clock M., eveiy 
day, with arms and accoutrements in complete order ; drill them ; and 
see that every man is acquainted with his duty. 

" The firing-exercises will he mostly practised agreeably to Smytii's in- 
structions ; and should any man refuse the orders of the Orderly-Sergeant, 
he shall be punished according to the nature of his offence. 

" Wm. Christy, 
'•'' Lieutenant 1st Regiment, 
" Commanding Detachment P 

"DETACHMENT ORDERS. 

. " Wilna, Jan. 28, 1815. 
" Morning and evening parades will be strict^ attended to ; the roll 
called, and arms, accoutrements, and clothing inspected at every parade. 
The drill will commence at 11 o'clock A. M., and continue one hour each 
day. 

"" It is with regret that the Commanding Officer has to remind the men 
under his command, that they are not to wear their hats when he enters 
the room, and are not to pass him without saluting in the usual and pro- 
pL'r manner. 

" At the same time he can with pleasure assure them that he feels liim- 
si-lf highly honored to have the command of men who, in every other par- 
ticular, have discharged their duty with so much promptness and soldier- 
like etiquette ; and he hopes not again to have to remind them, in orders, 
of any part of their duty. Tlic Orderly-Sergeant will be held account- 
able for strict attention to the above orders. 

" Wm. Christy, 
'■'■ Lieut. \st Regiment, 
" Commanding Detachment.^'' 

"DETACHMENT ORDERS. 

. " Wilna, Jan. .SO, 1815. 
" One man will be detailed weekly for a cook, who will be held account- 
able for the good police of the barracks and cleanliness of the cooking 



256 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Utensils ; the mess pans are to be scoured immediately after each meal, 
and placed bottom upwards upon the table. 

" Immediately after reveille every man will put his blanket, and all his 
clothing, except what lie has on, into his knapsack, which he shall hang 
upon the rack made for that purpose, and tlie pins of which shall be 
numbered, llis gun and accoutrements will also be kept in their proper 
place agreeably to orders. Any man who is known to eat his "break- 
fast without having washed his hands and face, shall be deprived of his 
rations of whiskey for that day, and the informer shall receive double 
rations. 

" No man is to be seen further from the barracks than Mr. Steward's, 
and the men are not to crowd themselves into the bar-room without busi 
ness calling them there. 

"■' The parade-ground in front of the barracks will be kept clean and 
smooth for the distance of ten paces, and all the wood corded up, as it is 
hauled in, against the north end of the barracks. The parades and drills 
will continue agreeably to the Order of 28th instant ; and it will be 
the duty of the Orderly-.Sergeant to inform the Commanding OfBcer, 
at every parade, of what has transpired, and receive his instructions 
thereon. 

" The Guard will permit all cutters and sleighs, which do not appear to 
be loaded, to pass towards Ogdensburg ; but will detain all i)assing the 
contrary way, calling for tlie corporal of the guard, who will examine 
them closely. Should he find any suspicious property, he will forthwith 
report, with full particulars, to the Commanding Officer. It will be re- 
quired of the Oi'derly-Sergeant to pay strict attention to these examina- 
tions ; he will likewise see that these and all previous orders are strictlv 
enforced, or he will be made accountable for his neglect. 

" Wm. Christy, 
'■'• Lieut. \st Regiment, 
'' Commanding Detachment^ 

From these specimens of his military orders — being but a boy — it will 
readily be seen, from the system that pervades them, that he had all the 
elements of the good officer in his composition. 

The army at Sackett's Harbor was not disbanded until after the 4th 
July, 1815, and the officers both of the army and navy at that post de- 
termined to celebrate the anniversary of our Independence in an appro- 
priate manner. Accordingly extensive preparations were made ; one of 
the batteries having been converted into a dining saloon, beautifully and 
appropriately decorated. Immediately in front of this was erected a high 
rostrum for the orator of the day, young Christy, who had been selected 
by the committee of arrangements to deliver an address suitable to the 
occasion. Here the jealousy of some of his brother-officers again dis- 
played itself at the dinner-table, which nearly resulted in bloodshed ; for 
Christy was forced to draw his sword, which, but for the interference of 
Commodore Chauncey, woidd have been promptly used. 

Thus does envy, that baleful and wide-spread sin, make us often unjust 
towards those, who, possessing a higher order of talent and merit than 
ourselves, receive only their due reward from the discerning. 

A reduction of the army took place, and it was put upon a peace-foot 



WILLIAM CHRISTY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA. 257 

ing before that di^dsion of it stationed at Sackett's Harbor was disbanded. 
Of the regiment to which Christy was attached, he was one of the three 
officers who were retained in the army — he having been transferred to the 
new first regiment of infantry, and appointed its paymaster. lie was 
forthwith ordered to join his regiment at New Orleans, where it was al- 
ready quartered. In order to do so, he had to travel entirely by land, 
and pass through the several tribes of Indians occupying the country 
between Nashville and Natchez. H-3 arrived, however, in safety at his 
destination. New Orleans was at that time included in that division of 
the army under the command of General Jackson, who, having heard of 
the gallantry displayed by young Christy on repeated occasions, soon 
evinced a decided friendship for him. 

Hitherto our hero had proved himself of the proper metal to meet the 
shock of war ; but he was now to enter upon a field of equal danger, and 
from which his previous active military life, during the wai-, had in a 
great measure excluded him. The winter of 1815-16 was, perhaps, one 
of the gayest ever before witnessed in New Orleans. Two circumstances 
contributed to make it such ; it was the first after the British invasion ; be- 
sides which. General Jackson, with many gallant officers of the army, who 
had so much distinguished themselves in various fields during the war just 
passed, were there assembled ; amongst whom Ave may enumerate Colonel 
Croghan, General Sam Houston, Governor Call, Major Chotard, General 
W. 0. Butler, together with Commodore Patterson, Captain (now Com- 
modore) McKeever, Captain Spedden, all of the navy, with Major Car- 
mick, of the marine corps. Purser Thomas Shields, and many others, the 
names of whom cannot just now be remembered. Here, too, were to be 
found many of the brave citizens, officers, and soldiers who had so fear- 
lessly met and defeated the enemy, in defence of the " beauty and booty" 
of their beloved city. 

In the midst of such an array of brave men, with the addition of 
lovely women, did young Christy find himself on his arrival at New Or- 
leans ; and as he had already proved what tried men's souls, he was now 
to encounter what try men's hearts. Beauty, wit, and fashion, all com- 
bined and centred there ; and considering the age and disposition of our 
young friend, it would be expecting too much to think for a moment he 
could pass through such an ordeal unscathed. 

The unbounded hospitality so freely bestowed upon the brave men as- 
sembled in the city, by the wealthy citizens of the place, together with the 
uninterrupted round of pleasures of the season, was well calculated to cap- 
tivate the feelings of a young man of Christy's impulsive temperament. 
He was fated, however, despite of all these allurements, to prove in his 
own person that there is no perfect happiness on this earth. 

The difficulty which all have experienced who have had accounts to 
settle with the several departments of the federal government, has grown 
into a proverb ; and the Colonel was to feel the truth of this even at his 
early time of life. Christy, in his capacity of paymaster to his regiment, 
had some misunderstanding with the department at Washington relative 
to the manner of his disbursements ; as also in regard to his rank, the 
particulars of which would require too much space to explain here ; be- 
sides which, time, that true test, has proved the young officer to havo 
been correct in all his transactions with the government, and of which we 

17 



258 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

■will furnish sufficient evidence hereafter. Christy, conceiving that injus- 
tice had been done him in the matter, explained his situation to General 
.Jackson, who gi-anted him leave to proceed to Washington, for which 
place he started at once, and arrived late in June, 1816, only to find the 
heads of departments, with whom his business lay, absent from the city. 
Having waited here for several days without being able to accomphsh the 
purpose for which he had travelled so far, and feeling wearied and dis- 
gusted, with some resentment, too, at the treatment he had received, he 
determined to resign his commission ; although Mr. Crawford, of the War 
Department, offered him a staff appointment then vacant, with the rank 
and emoluments of a colonel, which, considering his youth — for he was 
at this time but twenty-three years of age — may be considered as highly 
complimentary. 

His mind was made up, however, and accordingly on the 4th July, 
1816, he tendered his resignation, and exchanged the uniform of the 
soldier for the plainer habiliments of the citizen, by which the army lost an 
officer that would have proved an ornament to the country. 

This was a remarkable epoch in the life of the hero of our sketch, 
which we will now endeavor to abbreviate as much as possible, taking but 
a cursorv o-lance at what followed in his career, and which will not fail 
to prove him the remarkable man we announced him in the commence- 
ment of this memoir. 

On resigning from the army he had formed no definite plans for the 
future, but he soon made up his mind as to the course he should pursue, 
and on the same day we find him on his way to I-'hiladelphia, for the 
furtherance of what he had determined upon. As already mentioned in 
an early part of this sketch, he had many wealthy and influential friends 
and relatives in the Western country, and it occurred to him that with 
their aid he could successfully establish himself in New Orleans as a 
commission merchant; his previous winter's residence there having very 
favorably impressed him with that city and its society. 

Christy lost none of his usual promptness in putting his plans into 
execution, and the following spring (1817), found him in New Orleans, 
with coat off and marking pot in hand, mounted upon tobacco hogs- 
heads, quite as busy in his new avocation as he had been in his old one. 
This sudden metamorphosis of the well dressed and somewhat dandified 
young officer to the hard working business man, naturally attracted the 
attention of the large acquaintance he had formed whilst residing in the 
city as an army officer ; and his untiring industry, assiduity to business, 
frank and courteous manners for which he had always been noted, soon 
rendered him quite as popular as a merchant, as he had been when in the 
army. All this, added to his popularity in the West, caused, as if 
almost by magic, an immense business to flow in upon him, to the 
astonishment of the old and long-established houses in the place. In 
this connexion, we cannot refrain from relating a little incident which 
occurred between young Christy and Mr. Benjamin Morgan, then one of 
the leading merchants in the city. Their counting-rooms chanced to be 
near each other, and Mr. Morgan had not failed to observe the large 
quantities of produce received by Christy from the first opening of his 
house ; and having been told he was the same young officer he had 
known a few months previously, the old gentleman called into Christy's 



WILLIAM CIIRISTV, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA. 250 

coiintinfrroom some six weeks after he liad commenced business!, and 
addressed bim as follows : " Are you tbe young dandy officer who was 
here last spring ?" He received an affirmative answer. " Are you a 
Kentuckian ?" continued he. " I am," was the rejoinder. " I thought 
so," added the old gentleman, " for no other state in the Union can ]»ro- 
ducc such a specimen of a young man ; and, excuse me, as I'm a plain- 
spoken old man, but youHl do. Whenever you want any money or 
advice, call upon me. Good morning, sir !" 

The rapid increase in his business determined Christy to associate with 
himself some one thoroughly conversant with all the details of commer- 
cial life, as he himself had not had an opportunity of acquiring as full a 
knowledge of it as he could wish to possess ; and he accordingly selected 
his book-keeper, a young gentleman from New York, who, from his 
experience in business, was well adapted for the purpose, and to whom 
he gave an interest in the firm as a partner. Their united labors were 
rewarded by unusual success, and before the close of their first year's 
business, they had the agency of twelve sea-going vessels and a number 
of steamboats, besides their other business as receivers of produce on 
consio-nment. In short, the house had established a larger business and 
credit than any similar one that had ever been in existence for the same 
period of time. 

The Colonel thus finding his success to liave exceeded the most 
sanguine expectations, and with every prospect of an increasing business, 
which if attended to must lead to fortune, made up his mind to domesti- 
cate himself permanently in New Orleans, and, therefore, in January, 
1818, married. 

After this important step in life, Christy intrusted the interior manage- 
ment of the business of his firm entii-ely to his partner, in whom he had 
the most abiding confidence, he himself attending excliisively to the con- 
duct of his out-door affairs. 

At the close of the spring business it was determined that the Colonel 
should visit St. Louis, and the Western States generally, with a view of 
still further extending their business, although it had already acquired 
an extent exceeding his hopes when he exchanged the sword for the quill. 

A statement of their affairs was prepared by his partner — an accom- 
plished accountant — which, upon examination by the Colonel, appearing 
all correct and satisfactory, he left on his Western tour, full of happiness 
in the present, and hope for the future ; and feeling, too, that the day 
was not far distant when he was to be rewarded for all the trials 
and hardships he had endured in early life after the death of his parents. 
Another source of happiness to his generous nature was the thought that 
he would, ere long, be in a condition to render independent his numerous 
family, who yet looked to him for support and maintenance. 

.\ shadow was now to be darkly cast across Christy's hitherto prospe- 
rous path in life. He had, with all his penetration of character, been the 
dupe of his own generous impulses, which had led him to select his 
former book-keeper for his partner, and was now to contend with fraud 
and corruption in all its disgusting phases. The absence of the Colonel 
from the city afforded this partner an opportunity of completing the ruin 
of the house, which he had previously involved without the knowledge of 
Christy, who had, as we have already said, intrusted the whole of the 



260 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

interior business to him ; all this having been done to forward his owu 
private ends : the very statement shown to the Colonel prior to his 
departure having been a false exhibit expressly prepared to blind him to 
the tiue state of affairs. 

A brother of Christy's, who was a clerk in the house, not liking the 
turn things appeared to be taking, wrote to him, expressing his fears for 
the consequences of the change which he observed in his partner's con- 
duct. This letter reached him at St. Louis, and its contents fell like a 
thunderbolt upon him. The means and facilities for travel in those days 
were very different from what they are at present, and Christy was 
obliged to perform his journey to Louisville in a small carriage. 'J'he 
heat was oppressive, the flies terribly bad upon his horses, and the 
traveller, in a highly excited condition of mind, reached Louisville with 
the sixth horse, having killed five on the road. 

To one possessing the confiding disposition of Christy towards those in 
whom he trusted, the reader can imagine his sufferings on receiving here 
the full confirmation of his partner's villany. Action, however, as v/e 
have all along stated, was the Colonel's forte, and the next thing to be 
done was to reach home as early as possible ; so he started from Louis- 
ville upon a small steamboat, and the river being low, she got aground 
near the mouth of the Ohio. The condition of his mind was not pre- 
pared to brook a delay of this nature, and at ten o'clock the same night 
he left the steamer in an old skiff", with his body servant and a few days' 
provisions, to reach New Orleans. After suffering much from fatigue and 
exposure, he reached the spot upon which now stands the town of 
Randolph, but where there then was but a single Indian hut. Here he 
purchased a miserable Indian pony, and with but five dollars remaining 
in his pocket, he started to strike the Indian trail leading from Nashville 
to Natchez and Madisonville, to_ reach which he had to ride 120 miles 
through the forest — the sun and the stars alone serving as his guide to 
keep the route. This he finally accomplished within two days, not, 
however, without having to procure another pony, as his first had given 
out ; and during the entire time he had no sleep except for a few hours 
under the shade of a tree. 

We omitted sooner to state that, on starting on this part of his 
journey — from the place now known as Randolph — he was forced to 
leave his servant to reach home as he best could. 

When Christy reached the Indian trail, his second pony being nearly 
broken down, he met with a horse-dealer with a drove of good horses, 
from whom he purchased two on a credit ; these he likewise rode down, 
and again liad to procure a third, which, like the others, gave out ere 
reaching Madisonville (on the Chefuncty river, which empties into Lake 
Ponchartrain, opposite New Orleans), where he finally arrived on foot, 
having in this journey, from the time he left St. Louis, killed six horses, 
and broken down five others. We have followed him in this journey 
only to show his indomitable will and perseverance. 

On arriving at home, he found his late partner in business on his own 
account, he having gone through bankruptcy, after sacrificing the Colonel 
in the most ungrateful manner. Christy's first impulse was to expose 
and personally punish the ingrate, from which, however, be was dis- 
suaded by his family and friends. 



WILLIAM CHRISTY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA. 2(51 

Here, then, was a fresh start in the world to be taken, after this bitter 
lesson. With means gone, credit destroyed, and additional obligations 
resting upon him, what could this young man, with even the vigorous 
mind and energy of character which we have described him as possessing, 
hope to do for the support and education of the large family he had to 
care for ? But with Christy there was no hesitation, no delay ; he 
resolved upon renewing, after so great a lapse of time, the study of the 
law. He applied himself diligently, and was admitted to practice in the 
courts as an attorney. So quietly had the Colonel prosecuted his studies, 
that on his first appearance in court, the whisper passed around amongst 
the members of the bar, " Where and when did Christy study law 1" 
accompanied with other equally ill-natured remarks, shrugs and smiles of 
derision. Our now young lawyer kept his penetrating eye upon them, 
watching an opportunity to resent their half implied insults. Ere long, 
in the course of his practice, opportunities did not fail to occur for him 
to force apologies from some of the older members of the bar for disre- 
spectful conduct towards him. Nor was he long in affording ample 
evidence that he had, indeed, studied law somewhere and at some time, 
if unknown to them. In his new profession, as in all else he had under- 
taken, he was soon successful ; for his powers of eloquence, which with 
constant practice now developed themseh^es, together with his accustomed 
industry and close application, very soon enabled him to acquire a 
respectable law business ; and in less than two years from his admission 
to the bar, he had as much practice as he could attend to, notwithstanding 
the assiduity with which he devoted himself to the interests of his clients. 

In addition to his other labors, in 1826 he compiled and published the 
first Digest of the Decisions of the Supreme Court of the State of Louis- 
iana, known as " Christy's Digest ;" — a work which was acknowledged 
to have been ably prepared, and which proved extremely useful to the 
profession generally ; and as an evidence of the estimation in which it was 
held by the Legislature of the State, by a special act, the Governor was 
authorized to purchase 100 copies for the use of the several courts through- 
out the State, and for which the compiler received the sum of $800. 

In 1827 he received from the Governor of the State an appointment as 
Notary Public, an office of the highest responsibility and impoi'tance under 
the civil law by which Louisiana is governed ; and which he continued to 
hold until a few years since, when Governor Walker, in a spirit of pro- 
scription, made the office a political one by depriving nearly every whigr 
who held the commission of Notary Public. 

It was not surprising that with his knowledge of the law and strict 
attention to all business intrusted to his charge, he should soon find him-, 
self almost overrun with notarial work. 

Several years previously (in 1823) he had been elected an Alderman 
from the First AVard of the city of New Orleans, comprehended between 
Canal and Custom-IIouse streets, at which period none but the most 
respectable and influential citizens were selected for the responsible duties 
of the City Fathers; and it is a matter of great regret tliat surli judicious 
selections do not continue to be made in our day, as well in New Orleans 
as in other cities of the Union. 

In the City Council, as in every other position of importance which he 
had occupied, he became one of the most zealous, useful, and leading 



262 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

members of tliat body. He was the originator and advocate of nearly all 
the most useful and important improvements of the times ; — such as the 
paving and lighting of the city, and supplying it with water, the credit of 
which has been improperly ascribed to others. It was Colonel Christy 
that first proposed the inti'oduction of the square stone pavements, now 
become so popular, and not another gentleman, as has been claimed by 
his friends ; and in order to practically advocate this system of paving, as 
superior to all others, he actually went to the West, and at a heavy 
expense procured the necessary material with which he had a portion of 
Gravier street paved as an experiment ; and this very pavement was in 
constant use in the business part of the city for upwards of twenty years, 
without requiring any repairs. Des2)ite of this evidence of its superiority 
to all others, such was the prejudice existing in favor of the round stones, 
on the score of present economy, that the Colonel failed to carry through 
this — one of his favorite schemes for the improvement of the city, by 
which millions might have been saved to the city had his co-laborers 
kept pace with him in the march of mind and improvement. 

After having served his constituents for uj)wards of ten yeai's in the 
Council, the increase of his double business — that of lawyer and. notary — 
became so great as to compel him to resign his post as Alderman, in 
which he was succeeded by Samuel J. Peters, a gentleman who has also 
figured conspicuously in the history of the city of New Orleans. 

The Colonel was now on the tide to fortune, and he was ever foremost 
to lend his fostering aid, whether by subscription or his personal attention, 
to all enterprises having for their object the public good. He was liberal 
and charitable to a fault ; — for which chara(;teristics he is still celebrated, 
as his hand and purse are never closed against the needy ; popular and 
beloved by all who know him well ; and pidor to the crash of IBS'/ he 
had accumulated a fortune estimated at upwards of foicr hundred thou- 
sand dollars. 

Thus had he accomplished his declaration, made when a boy of four- 
teen, that " he would rise to distinction and fortune." 

But fortune is unstable ; — for Colonel Christy, in common with many 
other great, good, and liberal-minded men, espoused the cause of Texas in 
her early struggle for independence, which ultimately cost him the greater 
part of his fortune, and subjected him to much trouble and inconvenience 
at a later day. 

It is generally known that Colonel Christy has claims for large tracts 
of land in the State of Texas, but how he became possessed of these, and 
of what nature they are, is not so well understood — most persons being 
under the impression that they are founded upon grants fi'om the former 
Republic of Texas as a reward for the valuable aid he afibrded them in 
their darkest hour of adversity. This opinion is far from correct, as we 
shall show the reader. 

So far from the late Republic of Texas (or, indeed, the present State 
formed out of it) having in any manner reimbursed him for his very great 
outlay of money, or in any manner rewarded him for his own personal 
exertions in her cause, which contributed so largely towards enabling the 
country to bring its struggle to such a successful and happy issue ; they 
repaid him only in the coin so proverbially current in all republics — ingra- 
titude ; as we will make fully appear. 



WILLIAM CHRISTY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA. 263 

Colonel Christy had become by purchase the owner of large tracts of 
land in Texas ; and finding subsequently that by the newly-adopted consti- 
tution of the then republic, he, in common with all foreigners, was pro- 
hibited from holding real estate in the country, unless he derived his title 
direitly from the government itself, he attended the meeting of the first 
Congress of the republic which assembled after the battle of San Jacinto, 
for the purpose of procuring the passage of an act to enable him to hold 
or sell these lands, honestly purchased with his own money, as we liave 
said. 

This was a thing shnple enough in itself, and only what had been ac- 
corded to many others ; but in his case it was refused by a solenm vote 
of Congress, and for the following reasons, as gravely set forth in a speech 
delivered by one honorable Senator, who, in opposing this bill, used the 
following language : — 

" Mk.President, — I acknowledge that we owe our independence more 
to Colonel Christy, for his money and infiuence, than to any otlier person 
living ; and yet, sir, I oppose this bill, because he has the President at his 
back!" 

To explain such extraordinary language as the above, we will merely 
remark that General Sam. Houston had just been elected President of the 
repubhc, and was in favor of the passage of the bill ; regarding it a 
mere act of common justice to Colonel Christy. The bill, however, was 
lost ; and the Colonel left the country shortly after this in disgust. 

Not only have the Legislatures of the republic — and the since State of 
Texas — neVer asked what he had expended in the cause of her indepen- 
dence, but he has even never been complimented by a vote of thanks for 
all he had done and suftered in her behalf; thus aftbrding, as has been 
remarked, another illustration of the ingratitude of republics. 

In striking contrast, however, with the conduct of the Texan govern- 
ment, and as an evidence of the estimation in which Colonel Christy's ex- 
ertions in the cause of Texan independence were view^ed by many of the 
gallant oflicers of the army, who fought the decisive battle of San Jacinto, 
we insert a letter from the latter to General Sam. Houston, the Comman- 
der-in-Chief of the Army, at the time. Here it is : — 

" Camp near San Jacinto, 
" Zd May, 1836. 
" To Major-General Sam. Houston, 

" Commander-in- Chief of the Army : 
" giR^ — We the undersigned officers of the army of Texas, under your 
command, beg leave through you to present to William Christy, Esq., of 
New Orleans, a saddle and bridle, said to have belonged to Colonel Cos, 
and taken at the battle of San Jacinto, on the 21st April, and to assure 
him of our heartfelt gratitude towards him, for the zeal used by him in 
our favor during our darkest days. 

" We have, sir, the honor to be, 

"Your obt. servants, 
"S. Sbermax, Col. 2d Regt. Haydkn Aunoi.d, Capt. 

"Jos. L. Bennett, Lieut. Col. 2(1 Regt Tiios. II. McIntyre, Capt. 
" Lysander Wells, jl/ajor " James Gillesi-ie, " 

" RoBT. McNuTT, " Ist " A. H. Weyley, " 

"RicuD. Roman, Capt. Company £. W. W. Uill, " 



264 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



" Wm. Ware, Capt. E. S. Jones, Lieut 

"J. B. Chance, " "K H. Durham, " 

"A. S.Lewis, " B. J. Harpeu, " 

"J. N. Moreland, Capt. \st. Regt. Art. B. S. Kuykendall, Capt. 

" Geo. W. Poe, " " " David Murpuree, Cmnmandt. C<mp. E. 

" Henry Millard, Lieut. Col. of Infantry. John P. Borden, Lieut. 

"J. M. Allen, Major of hifantry. Jesse Billingsley, Capt. 

" Henry Teal, Capt. of hifantry. J. W. Robinson." 

" Nicus. Lynch, Adjutant " 

With the exception of the compliment paid liim by these brave men, 
who knew how to appreciate services so heartily rendered, the Colonel 
\yas fated to meet with only ingratitude on every hand in Texas. At the 
time of his visit to the country Santa Anna was still confined a prisoner, 
near a cotton farm purchased by Christy. 

Every exertion made up to this time for the release of this distinguished 
prisoner had failed ; and from the proximity of his place of confinement 
to the Colonel's residence, the latter called upon him daily, and they thus 
became intimately acquainted with each other. This aiforded the Colonel 
many opportunities of manifesting his generous impulses, as Santa Anna 
was at that moment in destitute circuuistances, and everything was, of 
course, very high in a country where provisions were hard to procure even 
for money. 

In obtaining his final release, too, he perhaps owed more to the untir- 
ing exertions and influence of Colonel Christy, for bringing about this 
result, than to any other cause whatever. 

The fetters were no sooner stricken from his (Santa Anna's) limbs, than 
he, together with his aide-de-camp. General Almonte (now Minister to 
the United States from Mexico), was taken to Christy's house, and there 
provided by the Colonel, at his own individual expense, with horses, and 
everything requisite for himself and entire suite — or guard — which accom- 
panied him to Louisiana, where it was considered his life would no longer 
be in danger from the relations and friends of those of Fanning's detach- 
ment who had been so cruelly and treacherously murdered at Goliad, by 
order of Santa Anna. 

The expenses of this outfit, and the supplying the daily wants of this 
modern Napoleon., as he now delighted to cairhimself, for a period of 
three months, amounted in the aggregate to a very considerable sum. 
All this, together with the many other obligations of a personal character, 
for which he was indebted to Colonel Christy, was well known to the dis- 
tinguished recipient of them, and at parting he was profuse in expressions 
of lasting gratitude to his benefactor, for all his kindnesses; but it ended 
with this, as the Colonel has never since heard from General Santa Anna 
personally in any manner. 

The troubles which Colonel Christy brought upon himself by espousing 
the cause of Texan Independence were not yet at an end. 

The expedition to Tampico. under command of General Mejia, and 
which proved a failure, owing to the cowardice of some of his men, who 
were taken prisoners, and shot, was generally supposed to have originated 
with and been set on foot by Colonel Christy. These cowardly wretches, 
after losing all hope of pardon, resorted to a miserable artifice in the des- 

Serate hope of preserving their worthless lives. This was to write a 
umber of letters to their friends in the United States, setting forth that 



WILLIAM CHRISTY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA. 20,3 

they had been deceived by Colonel Christy, or they would never have 
joined the expedition. These letters they well knew would be read by 
the Mexican authorities, whose pity tli(>y hoped thus to arouse, and there- 
by possibly obtain a pardon ; but thoy missed their aim, and died like 
cowards, with lies upon their tongues. These letters, however, reached 
their several destinations, and were published and commented upon in 
se\'eral papers of the Union. 

General Jackson, then President, was urged by these publications to 
cause Colonel Christy to be prosecuted under the act of 1818 — as Gene 
ral Lopez subsequently was for his complicity with the Cardenas affair. 
Accordingly the United States District Attorney at New Orleans was 
instructed by the President to institute an inquiry into the matter, and 
the Colonel was notified to appear before one of the city Judges — acting 
as an examiniuo- magistrate — to answer to the charge of havino; violated 

~ O ^ «... ^ 

the provisions of the above cited act. At this 'jM-elimiuary examination, 
more than twenty witnesses were produced on the part of the prosecu- 
tion, from whom nothing was elicited to justify the charges set forth 
against ihe Colonel ; who on the contrary, in the course of his cross- 
examination of these witnesses, — for he appeared in Court accompanied 
by a friend, and conducted his own defence, — established his entire iimo- 
cence of the allegations made by his enemies. He likewise proved most 
conclusively by this cross-examination, for he did not introduce a single 
witness, that so far from his having in any manner aided in practising 
any deception upon those unfortunate men, he on the contrary warned 
every man who joined the expedition of the hazardous nature of it, and 
of the risk to run : and it was further proved, that in a public speech 
made by the Colonel on the very day of the embarkation of this expedi- 
liuu for Tampico, he distinctly informed them of the danger they were 
about to encounter ; and that if they failed in their attempt and were 
taken prisoners, they would be treated as p/ra<es and sh(,t. The pre- 
ponderance of testimony going to show that the Colonel had been grossly 
slandered by the unhappy writers of the letters referred to was so con- 
clusive, and the signal failure of the prosecution to establish a single 
specification of the charges against him, that the Judge honorably dis- 
charo'ed him — refusina; to send the case before the United States District 
Court for trial. 

This prosecution has long since been printed in pamphlet form, and 
made public, and shows for itself. The Colonel is believed to have been 
the first one prosecuted under the provisions of the Act of Congi-ess of 
1818 referred to. 

As an instance of that noble liberality which has ever distinguished 
liim — making him a public benefactor — we will relate an incident that 
occurred in 1833, as strongly characteristic of the man. From overwork 
for a series of years, he had somewhat impaired his health, although 
possessing a naturally robust constitution, and with a view to resist it, 
started for Canada via the West. On arriving at Kentucky, ho found 
his eldest sister, who Lad married a man of ample means, but which ho 
had entirely squandered by a life of dissipation, upon what proved to bo 
her death-bed — literally dying of a broken heart. The Colonel's quick 
eye saw everything at a glance, and believing that his sister would sur- 
vive until his return in the Fall, pursued his travels northward. The 



26G SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

object of bis tour baving been bappily accompbsbed, in tbe restoration 
of his beaUli, on leaving for home be visited tbe City of New York, 
vvbere be purcbased a bbrary of choice and valuable works, together 
with all tbe philosophical and astronomical apparatus requisite for the 
establishment of a first class academy of learning. These he bad for- 
warded to Burlington, Kentucky, then the county town of bis former 
residence : he had not forgotten tbe want of good schools, which he, 
in common with others, bad experienced in bis early years when strug- 
gling with privation and poverty; nor tbe difficulties which be himself 
encountered in his burning thirst after knowledge. He returned to Ken- 
tucky in time to close tbe eyes of bis dying sistei', and take charge of 
her eight orphan children, for such they shortly proved, as their father 
survived his sacrificed wife but a short time. A few weeks sufficed tbe 
Colonel to establish one of the best academies in tbe state for the educa- 
tion of children of both sexes ; which, having provided with teachers — 
male and female — of tbe highest attainments, he here placed bis eight 
little kindreds, surrounded by every comfort, to receive such an educa- 
tion as would fit them for any society, and render them ornaments to 
tbe state and the country. This academy was thrown open, free of 
charge, to all the neighboring population who might see fit to embrace 
tbe opportunity thus presented for the education of their children. In 
this and other ways he expended upwards of $25,000 on tbe family of 
bis sister : yet such are the mysterious ways of Providence, that but two 
out of the eight survived to thank him for his fatherly care of them. 

If be who causes two blades of grass to grow where but one flourished 
before, may be deemed a benefactor of mankind, bow much more so 
may tbe Colonel be considered such for baving founded this school where 
none such before existed : and had be never performed any other good 
to society, this one generous act alone would render his name worthy of 
a place in history : — it was, however, but one out of many others of a 
kindred nature. 

Among other useful and benevolent acts of Colonel Christy whilst an 
alderman, was tbe originating and successfully establishing that humane 
and charitable institution, tbe Male Orphan Asylum of Lafayette (now 
tbe fourth district). It was he alone who first conceived tbe idea, and 
upon his own responsibility raised by private subscription tbe funds 
necessary to purchase the beautiful, and now valuable property upon 
which tbe Asylum is located, and to start it into full operation. Again, 
by himself, did he procure the subscriptions to defray its annual ex- 
penses. Colonel Christy was the man who voluntarily superintended 
the work of the chain-gang in converting the old Sugar House of the 
late Commodore Kousseau into the Asylum for tbe Orphans, and laid off" 
and improved tbe surrounding grounds : in short, it is to him more than 
to any others the orphan inmates of that asylum owe their gratitude for 
such a home. 'Tis true that the names of many others appear in the 
final organization of tbe establishment ; but Colonel William Christy was 
the originatorand only actor in the whole matter, at its commencement, and 
hence, " honor to whom honor is due." Some years later, bis business 
requiring his whole time and attention, he resigned his seat in the Board 
of Directors of this Institution, worthy of a Howard to have conceived. 
The above recited facts are still remembered by a few of tbe survivors of 



WILLIAM CHRISTY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA. 26T 

the liist board of directors ; nevertheless, the public at large are under a 
misapprehension as to the true projectors of the Lafayette Male Orphan 
Asylum. 

Colonel Christy, as was to have been expected from his enterprising 
character and liberal disposinon, having, as before stated, amassed a very 
handsome fortune, was never averse to joining his friends in extensive 
opL'rations, of both a business and a speculative character ; and the feel- 
iii"- uf the times, and the facility with which men of ample means could 
obtain money for such purposes, only rendered it the more ditKc^ult for 
men of even the most prudent judgment to keep aloof from the desire 
of speculation which seemed to have seized upon all. 

But the ides of March arrived, and on the day after the memorable 
4tli of that month, 1837, in the general crash that took place, he found 
himself, from circumstances that were both unlocked for and entirely 
beyond his control, a loser to the extent of at least $100,000. 

On the evening of this 4th of March, the Colonel gave one of the 
most remarkable exhibitions of both nerve and philosophy that was 
perhaps ever met with under similar circumstances. He was well aware, 
from the vast numbers of protests of the principal merchants of the place, 
manv of whom were his personal friends, and others again connected 
with himself in some business operations, that he was bound to be a 
heavy sufferer ; and yet despite of this, he continued in his office engaged 
with six clerks the entire night preparing protests of the day, and yet 
not one of these young men for a moment suspected the shock had fallen 
so heavily upon him. 

The losses thus incurred, added to the very large sums expended by 
liim in the Texan cause, embarrassed the Colonel seriously, but he deter- 
mined to struggle through it if possible, and not suffer the moitifying 
alternative of having, in common with so many of his friends, to become 
bankrupt. He did struggle on, and sustained himself until the beginning 
of the year 1840, when from the heavy sacrifices he had been compelled 
to make in order to sustain himself so long, he too was forced to suc- 
cumb to circumstances ; and, making a surrender of his property, he 
went into bankruptcy, receiving the heartfelt sympathy of all his friends 
and acquaintances. 

At the first meeting of his creditors he was chosen one of the syndics 
in connexion with Mr. M'Goffin, the other, who having declined serving, 
at a second meeting Christy was elected sole syndic of his estate ; the 
usual security in such cases was waived, and he was fully authorized to 
act discretionally in all matteis appertaining to the settlement of the 
estate. His creditors further gave him an honorable discharge — all, save 
one or two, who being corporate bodies, had not the legal power to grant 
him an acquittance. He is now in possession of an order of the Court, 
by which he himself, and all the future properly he might acquire, are 
fully protected against the payment of any of his previous debts, beyond 
the amount realized from the sale of his property surrendered. The con- 
fidence reposed in him by his creditors, he felt as the highest compliment, 
and he resolved to renew his obligations for such of his liabilities as he 
considered having a preference over others, and which he carried into 
execution. 

His professional business fortunately continued as prosperous as ever, 



268 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

and he applied himself to the discharge of his duties as diligently as of 
yore, by which means he has been enabled to pay off two hundred 
thousand dollars of these voluntarily assumed obligations ; thus as it 
were becoming his own creditor. 

He constantly refused to sell at a sacrifice his large landed interests in 
Texas, which, as we have previously shown, were based upon purchases 
made with his own money, and were not — we repeat for the information 
of those who have thought differently — for grants from the late republic 
or present State of Texas. The wisdom of this course is now being made 
manifest, for he is about to get possession, under a recent decision of the 
Supreme Court of the United States, of all the lands embraced in his 
entire claims, and estimated to be worth over half a million dollars. 
These lands having been settled upon, and occupied by persons without 
any kind of titles whatsoever, suits of ejectment had been brought in the 
Texas Courts, and it is upon these suits that the decision of the Supreme 
Court of the United States has been given. 

When the decision reached New Orleans there was but one expression 
of feeling amongst the Colonel's numerous circle of friends and acquaint- 
ances, and that was of hearty rejoicing at his good fortune. Thus is the 
old soldier, patriot, and exemplary citizen, at last to be placed in affluent 
jirciimstances, by receiving back his own, after such a lapse of time, 
which he had so largely invested in these land speculations, and with 
perhaps the interest accrued thereon, in the enhanced value of lands in 
the rapidly growing State of Texas. There is something solacing, too, in 
the reflection that this handsome fortune comes to him at a period of life 
when the energies of man have generally begun to decline. Colonel 
Christy, however, presents a striking example to the contrary of this, for 
he is not only in appearance still a comparatively young man, but in 
cheerfulness of disposition, vigor and activity of m.nd and body, fully 
twenty years younger than is usually found in men of his age ; and he 
continues to enjoy life, as indeed he has ever done, with the zest of 
a man of thirty. 

That Colonel Christy has not been elected to various offices of honor 
and profit, to which his labors in the Whig cause so fully entitled him, 
has been rather a matter of preference with himself than any want of 
appreciation of his eminent services and talents by the party itself ; for 
he has ever preferred devoting his whole energies to the duties of his 
profession. It has been this that has always induced him to decline the 
candidacy for Governor of his state, on the several occasions when it has 
pleased his political friends to bring his name before the public. 

And again, as an evidence of the estimation in which he was held by 
his fellow- citizens during his career as an Alderman, he was frequently 
wlicited by the principal men of both political parties to become a candi- 
date for the mayoralty, which, like all offices of a similar nature, he 
declined for the reasons given above. 

In combining the practice of the law with the notarial business, he 
necessarily had to confine himself in the pursuit of the former chiefly to 
the probate and office practice, including the examination of titles to real 
estate and giving written law opinions, the result of which, together with 
the large criminal practice which he had prior to his appointment as 
notary public, has been, after a familiarity with all this for upwards of 



WILLIAM CHRISTY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA. 2G9 

thirty years, to place him ainoiio- ili(3 foremost of tlie members of the 
New Orleans Bar, as a criminal law, probate, and i-eal estate lawyer, 
which secnres to him at thei)resL-nt time a large and jtrofitable practice. 

In a previous part of this sketch, in speaking of the misunderstandings 
which Colonel Christy had with some of the departments at Washington, 
whilst he was acting as paymaster of his regiment, and which was the 
cause of liis resigning from the army, we stated that he was correct 
throughout all his transactions with the government ; and no stronger 
evidence of this may be adduced than the appointment, voluntarily 
tendered him bv President. Fillmore, to the responsible oliicc of Surveyor 
of the Customs for the port of New Orleans. The Colonel had never 
been an applicant for any office, and only accepted the appointment to 
this because it did not materially interfere with his own professional 
business, and that he esteemed it complimentary on the part of the 
President. The public and the government Avill bear witness to the 
prompt and satislactory manner in which the duties of this important 
office were discharged under his administration of it. 

To all noble and generous natures, nothing is more natural than to 
desire the good opinion of their fellow-men ; and nothing, perhaps, 
should be more cherished than the evidence of the estimation in which 
they have been held by the good and the great of the land, many of 
whom are so rapidly passing away from amongst us. 

Intending to visit Europe in 1844, Colonel Christy obtained from that 
distinguished statesman, Henry Clay, a letter of introduction to Mr. 
Everett, then Minister of the United States at the Court of St. James, 
England, and we transcribe a copy of this letter as an evidence of the 
estimation in which Colonel Christy was held by Mr. Clay, who knew 
him well : — 

''Ashland, 28th October, 1843. 
"Mr Dear Sir, — I take no ordinary pleasure in inti'oducing to your 
acquaintance, and recommending to your friendly offices. Colonel ^V'illiam 
Christy, of New Orleans. I have long known him as a high-minded 
gentleman, distinguished by uncommon public spirit, and a man of 
business habits, untiring industry, and highly respectable talents. These 
qualities he has displayed in peace and in war, and in all the relations 
of society. 

" With great respect, I am your obedt. servt., 

"H. Clay. 
" His Excellency E. Everett, Minister, &c., &c., &c., London." 

It is not to be expected that any man could pass nearly forty years in 
New Orleans, engaged all this time in active pursuits, and much of it in 
public office, without having encountered some personal difficulties ; but 
considering the proneness to duelling in former days, his undoubted and 
well tried courage, as well as his prompt disposition to resent anything 
verging upon an insult, we do not hesitate to assert that there cannot bo 
found anywhere a man who has engaged in fewer of these dillicultiee 
than Colonel Christy, and never a single one growing out of any business 
transaction. 

True, in common with most others, who have long lived in New 



270 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



Orleans, he has had a few "affairs of honor" on his own account, nearly 
every one of which, however, were in some manner connected with 
politics or his friends. On the other hand, to his great praise be it 
Ifpoken, he is believed to have amicably arranged more aftairs of this 
nature than any other gentleman in New Orleans, which happy termina- 
tion he always brought about by his rare good sense and undisputed 
courage, the combination of which qualities often caused him to be 
selected as a referee in suoh matters. This subject is dwelt upon by the 
writer, who knows fi-om his own personal knowledge that what he has 
here asserted is strictly true, and because he is likewise aware that beyond 
the immediate circle of Colonel Christy's acquaintance he has long been 
improperly represented as a man of violent temper, and as rather fond of 
what is vulgarly termed '^ fighting." So far from his meriting any such 
character, lliere is no gentleman who holds in more utter contempt the 
professed duellist than himself It is also within the writers knowledge, 
that the Colonel has almost invariably refused to act on behalf of his 
triends in " aftaii's of honoi-," unless they would give him carte blanche 
to proceed in the entire matter as he might deem best ; and in this way, 
as we have already stated, he has prevented many of what might have 
proved most fatal encountei's. We have also said, that he has himself 
had to appear upon the field in a hostile attitude ; and it is due to truth 
to add, that if necessary, he would yet meet any personal responsibility, 
but never from choice. The Colonel being a man of polished and 
courteous manners, and possessing the most kindly feelings, is ever 
careful of wounding the sensibility of others, and is hence the more 
unlikely to tolerate any attack upon his own. When such occurs, how- 
ever, he is quick to resent it, and in such moments is a dangerous foe to 
encounter, for when danger presses hardest, he is then coolest and most 
collected; and although we cannot agree with those who said of him 
(and no doubt intended it as a compliment to his courage), that " he had 
not sense enough to know when he was in danger," yet, coarse as is the 
expression, they no doubt based the remark upon a knowledge of the 
fact, that he knows no fear. 

From his long residence in New Orleans, and constant mingling in the 
politics of the country. Colonel Christy has, as a matter of course, 
acquired much influence; and being a ready and fluent speaker, he is 
very often most unexpectedly called upon to preside over, or address 
popular assemblages, even upon other than political subjects. His stvle 
of eloquence is often vehement, which never fails to tell with the people, 
who, knowing that he is not a seeker after oflice, are always convinced 
of his sincerity. 

In the advocacy of his political principles, he has had to pass through 
many scenes of personal danger, some of them of an almost incredible 
character, but that thev are known to hundreds yet livino-. For instance, 
on several occasions, m states other than his own (Louisiana), his life has 
been threatened by large mobs, because he has always had the courage 
to speak openly and freely his sentiments upon an important branch of 
national policy, as every true American citizen should. When sur- 
jounded by an infuriated rabble seeking his life, and only waiting for one 
more bold than another, a,nd who would undertake to " bell the cat," 
the glance of his keen and fearless eye, with the athletic proportions of 



WILLIAM CHRISTY, OF NEW ORLEANS, LA. 271 

his body, always restrained even the boldest from the onslaught, for 'twas 
plain to see the fate of the foremost in the attack. 

We have given but a few of the benevolent acts of Colonel Christy's 
life in this sketch, for the reason that he himsilf has requested the sup- 
pression of many, which, in the writer's opinion, who is well a(;quaiuted 
with the facts, are aniongst the noblest acts of his life ; but the Colonel 
is unwilling that the recipients of such kindliness should have their 
names brought before the public. 

Although we have perhaps written more than we had originally 
intended, vet verv much of a hio-hlv interestino- character must necessarily 
be omitted, as it Avould swell this sketch beyond the proper limits for the 
compilation in which it is intended to appear ; nevertheless we feel that 
we shall not have done even partial justice to the subject of this sketch, 
his relatives and friends, until we have spoken, however briefly, of his 
domestic qualities. 

In all the relations of husband, father, step-father, brother and friend, 
we challenge society to anywhere produce a kinder, truer, or more 
aflfectionate one than he is, and always has been. He is benevolent, 
generous, and charitable to a degree ; cheerful and forgiving in his dis- 
position ; a 2"»olished gentleman in his conversation, manners and deport- 
ment ; fond of the society of the young, with whom he is universally 
popular and always welcome. 

Hospitality in all times has been deemed a virtue, and the hospitality 
of Colonel Christy's house has ever been proverbial; and in the same 
spirit, his kind attention to the deserving stranger, arriving in his city, 
has been a subject of admiration to all who know him. 

With a mirtlifulness of disposition, remarkable in one of his age, and 
a fondness for genial company, yet he has ever been exemplary in his 
habits. In short, he is emphatically the man described by Fielding, 
" who does good by stealth, and blushes to find it fjime." 




^g?"b7 H.S.Saii- 



I 



or WJiSHING-TOlSr, JD. c. 



Kti^ ■'■•;.;- fi i.^arj/yhi.:^ STcaAjis ofUrm^.. 



HON. RICHARD S. COXE, LL. D., 

OF WASHINGTOK, D. C. 

Mr. Coxe holds an eminent position among the distinguished lawyers 
of the United States. Though his residence for many years, and dur- 
ing the principal portion of his professional life, in the District of Co- 
lumbia, has not given him the opportunity to receive those marks of 
political distinction which are generally conferred, lu the states of the 
Union, upon advocates who have attained to similar celebrity, and 
gained as large a share of general confidence and reputation ; yet it has 
contributed to place him in a sphere where his talents, ability and 
learning have been brought to the notice of his country, and received 
its approving judgment, as fully, and with justice as impartial, as if they 
had bees rewarded with the highest professional or judicial honors. At 
the bar of the Supreme Court, and among the distinguished circle of 
advocates which that high tribunal collects from every part of the 
United States, there are few who are so largely engaged in the various 
cases which are brought before it by its diversified and extensive juris- 
diction ; nor is there any one to whom they can be entrusted v?ith 
greater certainty, that no exertion of intelligent industry, no applica 
tion of legal Learning, study and research will be wanting, to their able 
and eloquent presentation in that forum of ultimate resort. 

Though a resident for the last thirty years in the city of Washing- 
ton, Mr. Coxe is a native of the State of New-Jersey. He was born m 
the picturesque and attractive city of Burlington, on the banks of the 
River Delaware, in January, 1792. He was the second :;on of the late 
William Coxe, whose name, though not without merited distinction in 
the legislative annals of the state, has become most widely known from 
his successful devotion to agriculture, and especially by his introduction 
and cultivation of every variety of fruit, and his publications, by which 
he allured and attracted the notice and industry of his countrymen into 
paths of horticulture, which, before his day, they had scarcely begun to 
explore. 

His family had been long settled in New-Jersey ; indeed, for more 
than a century it had filled a prominent position in its history. Dr. 
Daniel Coxe, an English gentleman of ancient connections and consid- 
erable wealth, possessed very extensive proprietary rights in the pro- 
vince of New-Jersey before the begiiming of the eighteenth century, 
and he even appears to have been entitled to hold the office of governor 
in virtue of those rights. He had been the physician to the Queen of 
Charles II., and subsequently to Queen Anne, and was also a governor 
of St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London ; his portrait, from the pencil 
of Kneller, still remains in the possession of his descendant at Wash- 
ington. The conflicts and diflicullies which arose shortly after the 
English revolution, between the proprietaries and the British govern- 
ment, led him at last to assent, and to induce the other proprietaries, 
none of whom were so largely interested as himself, to surrender to 
the crown the privilege of government which they had held and 

18 



274 SKETCHES OF EillNENT AMERICANS. 

exercised ; but his extensive domain was not relinquished or impaired, 
and he was long known by the designation of the " great proprietor ;"' 
nor was his political influence destroyed, nor even that of his family, 
for it continued to be represented in the royal council, probably with- 
out an interval, as long as the colony formed a portion of the British 
empire. 

The son of Dr. Daniel Coxe, who bore the same name, succeeded on 
his father's death to his possessions in America, which he visited in 
person in the early part of the eighteenth century. In addition, how- 
ever, to his patrimonial estate in New-Jersey, he inherited a claim to a 
large tra^t of country, granted under the name of the Province of Caro- 
lina, by King Charles I., in the year 1630, by a royal charter to Sir 
Robert Heath, his heirs and assigns. Though its boundaries were not 
definod'with accuracy or minuteness, they seem to have embraced the 
broad valley of the Mississippi from Florida nearly to the Ohio ; and 
even to have extended on the east and west to the shores of both 
oceans. Colonel Daniel Coxe entertained a sanguine hope of settling 
this vast region with English emigrants from the Atlantic colonies, and 
counteracting the plans which had been ali-eady commenced by the 
French and Spaniards on the Mississippi, both at the Gulf of Mexico 
and in the regions where it approaches the great northern lakes. He 
promoted, and probably took part in several adventurous expeditions 
into the vast wilderness, and made every exertion to ascertain correctly 
the gt^f^gfapliy, soil and products, and the character and disposition of 
its Indian tribes. It is a matter of tradition, that two vessels dispatch- 
ed by hini for the purpose of ascending the Mississippi as far as possi- 
ble, and bearing the English flag for the first time on that stream, were 
arrested in their progress by the French already settled in Louisiana, 
and compelled, at the place which still retains the name of the " Eng- 
lish Turn," to retrace their voyage. A curious little volume was pre- 
served in the Library of Congress until the late conflagration, and may 
still be found in some of our public libraries, in which he has recorded 
the result of these efforts. It traces the Mississippi from its mouth as 
far north as the Illinois ; describes with unexpected minuteness the 
rivers which flow into it on either side ; depicts the country, with its 
facilities for trade and agriculture ; and anticipates the intercourse that 
is to occur with the colonies beyond the Alleghany, and the facilities 
which this is to derive from the chain of northern lakes, and the rivers 
whose valleys almost interlock in the mountain range. He looks for- 
ward at that early period to the vast cultivation of cotton, which he 
says, " may be turned to great account, and in time perhaps manu- 
factured either in the country or Great Britain, which will render it 
a commodity still more valuable." What is yet more remarkable, as 
indicating a judicious forecast, he proposed, at that distant day, a 
federal union of all the colonies appertaining to the crown of Great 
Britain on the North American continent ; so that, to use his own 
language, they might be united under a legal, regular, and firm estab- 
lishment, over which a lieutenant or supreme governor should be con- 
stituted, and two deputies be annually elected by the council and 
assembly of each province, to be in the nature of a great council, and to 
meet together to consult and advise for the good of the whole- " A 



KICHARD 3. COXE, OF WASIIIXGTON, D. C. 275 

coalition or union of this naturo," he observed, " tempered with and 
crrounded on prudence, moderation and justice, and a generous encou- 
ragement given to the labor, industry and good management of all 
sorts and conditions of persons inhabiting, or any ways concerned, or 
interested in the several colonies, will, in all probability, lay a sure 
foundation of dominion, strength, and trade sufficient, not only to 
secure and promote the prosperity of the plantations, but to revive 
and greatly increase the late flourishing state and condition of Great 
Britain, and thereby render it once more the envy and admiration of 
its neighbors." 

William, the second son of Daniel Coxe, dwelt, during a considera- 
ble portion of his life, in the city of Philadelphia, where he married the 
daughter of Tench Francis, then attorney-general of the Province of 
Pennsylvania, son of the dean of Christ Church in Dublin, and brother 
of Dr. Philip Francis, so well known among men of letters as the 
translator of Demosthenes and Horace. Of this gentleman, Richard 
Smith Coxe was the grandson, being named after his maternal crand- 
father, who was a merchant of the city of Philadelphia. 

During his infancy and early childhood, the feebleness of his consti- 
tution scarcely allowed the indulgence of a hope that his life would be 
prolonged to manhood; but the energy of his character was already 
apparent in his resolute struggles to resist and overcome his bodilv 
infirmity ; and by habitually exposing himself to every vicissitude of 
weather, by courting all the manly sports and exercises of youth, he 
succeeded at last in conquering every weakness, so that, during the re- 
sidue of his life, he has been remarkable for the unusual vigor of his 
bodily health. He was only seven years of age when he was placed 
under the charge of the Rev. Dr. Staughton, at the academy in Bur- 
lington, with whom he remained until the age of thirteen ; from that 
time until his admission into Princeton College, the Rev. Dr. Wharton, 
long known as the learned and estimable rector of St. Mary's Church, 
in Burlington, aided him with private lessons, and prepared him for 
matriculation. 

In the year 1805, he was enrolled at Princeton as a member of the 
freshman class, being at that time and for months afterwards, the young- 
est student in the institution. From his first entrance into college, how- 
ever, he was influenced by a steady ambition, and throughout his three 
years' term always maintained a conspicuous position, which was 
crowned, on his graduation in 1808, with a high and well-deserved 
honorary distinction. His first instruction in classical literature, while 
under the care of Dr. Staughton, had not been profound, but his tastes 
and habits, which had imbued him from his earliest youth with a strong 
love of reading, and induced him ardently to cultivate general literatm-e 
and history, awakened in him a love for the great masters of Grecian 
and Roman poetry and eloquence, which increased in the progress ot 
collegiate studies, and has been nourished and indulged among the busy 
occupations of subsequent life. Under the care of President Smith, a 
gentleman of accomplished manners, and a scholar who, with many 
elegant and varied attainments, had especially cultivated, and ably and 
successfully explained the moral and mental scieiu-es ; and of Dr. John 
M'Lean, the professor of chemistry and natural philosophy, who com- 



1 



27G SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS, 

hinecl the Doric simplicity of his countryman Burns with the same spi- 
rit of accurate and searching inquiry into the truths of experimental 
science which had largely contributed to the fame of Professor Black, 
whose pupil in Scotland he had been, Mr. Coxe acquired, while at 
Princeton, a fondness for every branch of study and reflection con- 
nected with the moral and physical sciences ; this he has ever since re- 
tained, and ever continued to indulge, in as far as the engagements of 
his profession have permitted. 

The associations of his collegiate days were the basis of friendships 
then formed with persons of whom many have since risen to deserved 
distinction. Stevenson Archer, of Maryland, afterwards the distin- 
guished chief justice of that state, and already beloved by all who 
knew him, for the purity and excellence of his character, was conspi- 
cuous among his associates ; and in his room-mate and most inti- 
mate companion, Charles W. Monk, a native of Canada, he found a 
friend, who, from his superiority of years, commanded as much de- 
ference as by his talents, early and remarkably developed, he attracted 
admiration, and by his amiable character won and secured respect and 
love. To these chosen companions of his collegiate life he added se- 
■veral others — some of them students in the same class — whose names 
hi7.ve been made familiar to their countrymen by their subsequent emi- 
nence and worth. Bishop Meade, of Virginia ; Mr. Justice Wayne, 
who has been alike distinguished in the halls of Congress and on the 
bench of the Supreme Court of the United States ; ]\Ir. Booth, the 
lear ed chief justice of the State of Delaware ; and Mr. George Wood, 
who has risen to deserved professional distinction among the bar of 
New- York, were some of those with whom ties of youthful friendsliij) 
were formed at Princeton. 

Leaving college on his graduation as a bachelor of arts, at the pre- 
mature age of sixteen, Mr. Coxe, after an interval of only a few weeks, 
was entered as a student of law in the office of the late Judge William 
Griffith, then residing in Burlington, who had been for many years the 
intimate personal and political associate of his father, and with whose 
fiimily his own had long been united by close ties of familiar and at- 
tached friendship. In the office of Mr. Griffith he zealously pursued, 
for three years, his legal studies, only diverting his attention to such 
collateral branches of literary inquiry as were consistent with his in- 
tention, already formed, to make success in his profession the object of 
his undivided aspirations and efforts. Unforeseen reverses in his father's 
affairs, during the period of his studies, only served to strengthen a re- 
solution which, without them, would have been in accordance with his 
self relying spirit and disposition. When he had completed his course 
of study with Mr. Griffith, he was yet too young to claim admission to 
the bar, and he removed to Philadelphia with the view of occupying 
the interval in the larger field of practical observation and instruction 
which was afforded by its courts. He placed himself under the direc- 
tion of Mr. Binney, who was already rapidly rising to that distinction 
and high reputation which he has since attained. He also united zea- 
lously and actively in the formation of an association among the legal 
students of Philadelphia, for the purpose of mutual improvement, 
which has been ever since continued with advantage and success. The late 



RICHARD S. COXE, OF WASHrNGTOX, D. C. 27 1 

learned Mr. Duponceau, at the instance of the students, consented to 
become the president of this association, and to deliver formal written 
opinions upon questions which were discussed by them before him. 
For several years he devoted his time and extensive and various 
learning, with ready generosity, to this duty, and secured for himself 
the lasting and grateful recollection of those to whom this useful in- 
struction was given, among whom no one has more frequently ex- 
pressed his sense of obligation than Mr. Coxe. 

In the year 1812, a few weeks before he attained his majority, Mr. 
Coxe underwent his examination, and was admitted to the bar of the 
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. His original intention had been to 
settle himself, at the commencement of his professional life, in the 
western part of that state ; and with this view he had devoted much 
of his attention to the law of real property, and to the somewhat pe- 
culiar legal system connected with the land titles of Pennsylvania. 
This plan, however, circumstances induced him to relinquish, and he 
conmienced the practice of his profession in the city of Philadelphia, 
where he remained until the year 1816, when he married a lady who 
had been the object of his early and long-continued affections, the 
daughter of Judge Griffith, of Burlington, with whom his first leo-al 
studies had been pursued. 

Shortly after this event he determined to return to his native state, 
where, in May, 1817. he was admitted as an attorney and counselor of 
the Supreme Court. With the encouraging assistance of friends 
already conspicuous at the bar, and with the reputation alreadv ac- 
quired of professional learning and industry, it was not long before he 
found himself engaged in several cases of importance; and from the 
time of his first engagement at the New-Jersey bar until he finally lef^. 
it, his success was such as to present to a youthful lawyer brighter 
prospects than those which too generally attend the earlier years of his 
laborious profession. With many of the distinguished members of 
that bar he formed or renewed the most friendly relations. From Mr. 
Richard Stockton, then holding the high position in the profession to 
which his talents, learning and worth entitled him, he received that va- 
luable aid and friendly consideration which were congenial to his na- 
ture, and which largely contributed to lighten the first difficulties of a 
young lawyer's career. He counted, too, among his friends, Mr. 
Southard, at that time a judge of the Supreme Court, and afterwards a 
Senator of the United States, and a member of the administration of 
Mr. Adams ; Mr. Charles Ewing, subsequently chief justice of the 
state ; Mr. Wall, who represented New-Jersey for some years in the 
Senate ; and Mr. Frelinghuysen, then the attorney-general. From the 
latter Mr. Coxe received the appointment of deputy attorney-general 
for his native county — a situation which afforded him opportunities for 
the exhibition of his professional qualifications, and largely extended 
his acquaintance and popularity ; so that his share of the professional 
business of West Jersey soon became considerable in all of the state 
courts. Nor was it confined to these ; it extended to the Circuit Court 
of the United States, over which then presided, with distinguished 
ability, the late Judge Washington, an early friend of his father who. 



21g SKETCIIKS OF EMINENT AilEKieA.XS- 

to the end of his life, continued and exhibited the same friendly regard 
to his son. 

In the year 1822, circumstances occurred which induced ]\Ir. Coxe to 
contemplate a removal to the District of Columbia. Strong induce- 
ments were held out to him to make it the place of his future resi- 
dence and the field of his professional exertions ; and encouraged by the 
advice of friends, and strengthened by the letters of Judge Washing- 
ton, Mr. Southard and others, to whom he was well known, and who 
felt a strong interest in his welfare, he established himself at Washing- 
ton, in December, 1822. Admitted immediately to the bar of the 
Circuit Court of the District, and, at the commencement of the ensuing 
term to that of the Supreme Court of the United States, he plunged 
at once into the active and engrossing professional occupation which 
has from that time, without an interval, engaged him. He found him- 
self at that period surrounded by, and associated with, men most emi- 
nent in the profession of the law ; on the bench, before which he 
pleaded, sat Marshall, Washington, Johnson, Livingston, Todd, Duval 
and Story, all of whom, in the progress of his professional life, he has 
seen gradually pass from that high judicial station ; at the bar, his daily 
associates in forensic discussion were Wirt, Webster, Harper, Ogden, 
Emmett, Jones, Key and Swann, few of whom now remain to meet 
him in the scenes of their early and agreeable association. 

During the long interval of thirty years that have since elapsed, Mr. 
Coxe has been engaged in the full practice of his profession in the local 
courts in the District of Columbia ; occasionally in those of the State of 
Maryland, and constantly in the Supreme Court of the United States. 
To the extent of his practice and the importance of the cases entrusted 
to his charge, the volumes of reports of the latter tribunal, made by 
Messrs. Wheaton, Peters and Howard, bear a continuous and abun- 
dant testimony ; they afford, however, most imperfect and inadequate 
materials from which to form a just judgment of the learning, skill 
and ability of the advocate, for, with few exceptions, they present 
scarcely an outline of his arguments, and are confined to a summary 
of the principal points which he presented, and the authorities he re- 
lied on. Among the earliest of them was one which he argued in the 
year 182-5, that circumstances concurred to mvest with peculiar inter- 
est to himself It was an appeal from the judgment of the Circuit 
Court of New-Jersey, in the suit of W^right v. Denn, which had been 
there instituted on the advice of Mr. Stockton, who, in opposition to 
several eminent counsel, had given a decided opinion in favor of the 
plaintift^'s right, and which, after a contest in the Circuit Court, con 
ducted with equal zeal and ability, had been there sustained. When 
the case was taken by the defeated party to the Supreme Court of the 
United States, in the confident expectation that this decision would be 
reversed, Mr. Stockton was unable personally to participate in the ar- 
gument in Washington. He confided it to his young friend, with an 
earnest exhortation to sustain the opinion he had given, as well as the 
professional reputation of his native state; and this he successfully 
did, the judgment of the Circuit Court being affirmed without a dis- 
senting opinion. In the argument of this cause, Mr. Coxe met at the 
bar for the first time, his old college friend and companion, George 



KICHAUD S. COXE, OF WASIIIXGTOX, D. C. 279 

Wood, Although natives of the same county, members of the same 
class at Princeton, admitted to the bar nearly cotemporaneously, and 
pursuing their profession in the same state, yet the practice of the one 
had been principally in the northern and eastern counties, while that 
of the other was chiefly in the western circuits; so that they now met 
for the first time upon a distant field, and before a new tribunal. 

It was not long after the settlement of Mr. Coxe in Washington, 
that a class of cases involving property of great value, and presenting 
legal and political questions of delicacy and importance, began to occu- 
py the attention of the Supreme Court, which they continued to do for 
many subsequent years. These were controversies growing out of the 
cession of Louisiana and Florida to the United States. Not only did 
they depend mainly upon the local and colonial land laws of Spain, 
France and Great Britain, but they required a most careful examination 
and construction of the treaties made with those governments, and the 
political negotiations which had preceded and accompanied them ; so 
that the advocate was required to master a system of jurisprudence 
greatly at variance with our own, and to apply to private rights the 
stipulations of public and political documents, which were wanting in 
those elements of minute certainty that characterize the statu toi-y 
enactments which affect the property and rights of the individual citi- 
zen. Into this class of cases Mr. Coxe was early drawn, appearing for 
clients living remote from Washington, and thus invested with a se- 
rious responsibility, in addition to that which resulted from the nature 
of tlie controversy and the magnitude of the amount involved in it. 
Though few traces of his elaborate arguments in the many cases of this 
nature in which he appeared are to be collected from the Reports ; yet 
the notes preserved by the reporter in the suits of Forster v. Neilson, 
one of the earliest of the class, may afibrd some evidence of the re- 
search and talent by which they were distinguished. In cases, also, 
v.hich have involv&d the construction of the Constitution of the United 
States, and the application of its provisions, not only to the transac- 
tions of individuals, but, to acts of Congress and the legislation of the 
states, he has been repeatedly engaged, evincing at all times in his ar- 
guments that careful preparation and study which such subjects pecu- 
liarly demand, and holding in their discussion a high position among 
the advocates to whom they have been entrusted. 

Though Mr. Coxe, since his residence in Washington, has kept him- 
self aloof from public office, making his profession the exclusive object 
of his attention; yet in one branch of legal duty, connected with the 
administration of the government, his services have been engaged on 
many occasions. In the absence of a legal officer authorized by law to 
represent the government in prosecutions before courts-martial, he has 
been engaged in some of the most important cases to fill the post of 
judge-advocate ; and he has discharged its duties not merely with 
al)ility as a lawyer, but with that moderation and judgment which are 
made peculiarly necessary alike by the character of the tribunal, the 
nature of the alleged ollences, and the large discretion which belongs 
to the office. Among the most important cases in which he was thus 
employed by the government, were those of Commodore Stewart and 
Commodore Porter, in the year 1825. 



i 



280 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Such has been the professional life of Mr. Coxe — passed in the active 
and continuous exercise of the various duties of an advocate and a 
counselor, and attaining, by his integrity, talents and industry, a posi- 
tion which has secured for him the respect of the bench and the bar, 
and the confidence of those who have profited by his services. In his 
private life, his conduct has ever evinced a sincere submission to that 
sense of religious obligation which he has ever cherished ; and in his 
intercourse with his friends, and with all around him, he has constantly 
exhibited a liberal and hospitable spirit, which has drawn to him, in 
Washington, a large association with the men of eminence and worth, 
who have successively passed across that changing scene during the 
thirty years of his residence there. Having experienced many years 
since the death of the lady to whom he was married in his youth, Mr. | 

Coxe continued a widower until the spring of 1840, when he formed " 

a second matrimonial connection with Mrs. Susan R. Wheeler, the 
daughter of the late and sister of the present Mr. John Warren, of 
New-York — a lady whose intelligence, manners and disposition have 
largely added to the attractions of the social circle which he has gather- 
ed around him. His eldest daughter was married some years since to 
Major Weightman, now a delegate in Congress from the territory of 
New-Mexico, and whose gallant conduct was particularly conspicuous 
throughout the brilliant campaign in which Colonel Doniphan, with his 
little army of adventurous spirits, achieved some of the most romantic 
exploits that characterized the war with Mexico. 




^^^yt::L^ z^'.^^'^:;^ , 






HON. EZEKIEL PICKENS 



OF ALABAMA. 



No profession develops, with so much of accuracy and masculine 
vigor, the native intellectual predominancies as that of the law. Whilst 
it opens a vast field for profound philosophic inquiry, it, at the same 
time, imperiously demands an acute and close observation of the daily 
workings of practical life. In its history and principles, reaching back 
into the misty regions of ages long since become historical, yet, in the 
application of those principles to daily use, the possessor must keep 
his eye constantly fixed upon the gigantic progress of modern improve- 
ment and the far more extended and complicated machinery of modern 
society. A moment's reflection will serve to show that, aside from the 
patient and laborious toil necessary to accomplish successfully a task 
of such vast proportions, he who would rise to successful eminence 
must possess a clear, discriminating and practical judgment. He must 
be capable of extracting great principles of jurisprudence from amid 
the rubbish of ages, and stiff", stern and inflexible though they be, they 
must be in his hands sufficiently malleable to be applicable to the ra- 
pidly changing necessities of a progressive and gradually developing 
state of society. The \ViQYQ declaime?', or sentimental dreamer^ will find 
here no field suited to his exertions. The lofty aims of a practical 
wisdom, of a far-reaching and sagacious philosophy, can alone be tole- 
rated in this arena. And it is not, perhaps, saying too much to insist 
that these capabilities are more eminently demanded in the " frontier 
settlements" of our western and southwestern than in the older states 
of our vast Republic. In the latter, the ^-outhful aspirant for forensic 
honors finds moulded, and fashioned, and ready for use, all the forms 
and appliances necessary to professional success and development. The 
current of society flows smoothly and majestically on without change 
or detriment, except such changes as gradually develop a new principle, 
or a new application of an old one. Not so, however, in the former ; 
everything is in its primitive state. The materials for the formation of 
society, which are scattered around broadcast and in profusion, often 
the most heterogeneous and crude, have to be moulded and fashioned 
into form and symmetry by the application of great principles. These 
rude materials and these great principles have to be fused together in 
the crucible, and the process of melting down and refining the former is 
undergone by firm and unyielding contact with the latter. The very 
highest development of intellectual vigor, the most profound and com- 
prehensive knowledge of principle, is often found inadequate to this ar- 
duous task, for with these must be united a clear and quick sagacity, an 
adaptation to the habits and modes of thought by those surrounding 
the legislator or judicial functionary, or all his well-meant labors will, 
like the flibled fruit of the plain, " turn to ashes on the lip." 

Amongst those who have acted conspicuously in thus moulding and 
fiishioning society in our state, stands eminently forward the gentleman 
whose name heads this paper. 



282 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Judge Pickens, with all his apparent eccentricity, ds eminently a 
practical man. All his philosophy has in view some practical end, and 
that which is not good and useful meets with but little favor from him. 
At an early period of our history, being then quite a youth, he pitched 
his tent amongst us, and from that time up to the present moment, has 
been constantly and honorably identified with the interest and progress 
of Alabama. He has been for many years on our circuit court bench, 
and the acceptable manner in which he has discharged the duties of that 
arduous and responsible station is best evidenced by the fact, that when 
the election of judges was given to the people, (at the session of 1849- 
50 of the legislature,) he came before the constituency of a district 
largely whig, (himself being an unflinching democrat,) and though 
opposed by gentlemen of high intellectual and professional attainments, 
of enlarged experience and high moral qualities, he received more votes 
than both the candidates who opposed him. The people were deter- 
mined to show their appreciation of his long-tried services, and his tri- 
umphant election was justly regarded by his friends as a most signal 
and satisfactory indorsement of his great moral worth and unflinching 
judicial integrity. 

In his manners, habits and modes of thought. Judge Pickins is per- 
fectly unique. There is about him an appearance of drollenj, which 
often makes his auditors shake their sides with laughter, and what gives 
it greater zest is the fact, that it is clear, that is not assumed for effect, 
but is entirely natural. Many amusing anecdotes are told of him, and 
many of his expressions or sayings have become almost household 
words with our people, even with the children. Whatever he believes, 
he " believes with all his might," and, being satisfied that he has found 
a principle correct, he places thereon the most implicit and unyielding 
faith. An anecdote is told of him, as true, which will illustrate this 
characteristic. He is a strong believer in phrenology, and never is a 
supposed violation of the law brought before him, but that he brings 
to bear upon the offender's " bumps," his keen, dark and searching 
eyes. In one of the "Wire-grass" counties, where he was presiding in 
a small, temporary court-house, where the people, bar and officers were 
indiscriminately mixed up, (on "criminal day" especially,) an offender, 
who had been convicted by the jury of larceny, was brought up by 
the sheriff's officer to receive his sentence. He was told by the judge 
to stand up, upon which the prisoner, and the officer having him in cus- 
tody, rose to their feet, and standing but a short distance apart, the 
judge fixed his eyes upon the supposed criminal, and began to favor 
him with a lecture. The most withering denunciations of crime and 
criminals in general, and this offence and this offender in particular, 
were poured from the lips of the indignant judge. The utter meanness 
of the crime, the disgrace and reproach he had deliberately brought 
upon himself, his family and county, formed the theme for a most 
withering lecture. All this time, the members of the bar were con- 
vulsed with suppressed laughter, and the poor constable was writhing 
in agony. Humanity, at last, prompted some knight of the green bag 
to inform his honor that the person whom he was addressing was not 
the criminal, but the officer having him in charge, that the other " form 



283 

erect" was the olTender, against whom al! his bitter invective should be 
hurled. He paused for a moment, and all expected that he would make 
to the offended and suffering officer an ample apology — but not so. 
Scrutinizing him for a moment, as if doubting whether it were possible 
that he could be mistaken, he looked him full in the face, and, pointing 
his forefinger toward him, said, " Ah, well — you had better take care — 
mind I tell you — you've got a mighty bad head !" 

In the administration of the criminal law, he has the reputation, with 
many, of being harsh and severe. It is not to be disguised that he has 
an innate horror for crime, and, unlike many others in this respect, that 
horror increases with the magnitude of the oftence. He is not carried 
away by what Mr. De Quincy would call, I suppose, "the poetry of 
crime," and led thereby to pour all the vials of his wrath upon the pet- 
ty offender. Very far from it. Whilst these meet with little or no 
tlivor or commiseration, it is the great criminal that calls him fully 
out. 

But, I am by no means willing to admit, that the charge of harshness 
is well sustained. I have never known him to deny to any the full mea- 
sure and benefit of all the defences that the law gave them, whilst, at the 
same time, in charging the jury, he depicts, with strong, original, and 
often powerful eft'ect, the enormity of crime. No judge upon the bench of 
our state is listened to, by juries, with more earnest attention ; and their 
great confidence in him, as a man and as an officer, often, doubtless, 
gives to his remarks more weight than was intended by him. Upon 
the whole, his administration of the criminal law has been highly suc- 
cessful and beneficial to the community. In his charges to the juries, 
in both civil and criminal cases, he is generally clear and explicit. He 
uses the most simple language, and, comprehending himself, very readi- 
ly, legal principles, he labors so to simplify them as to make them clear 
to the unprofessional mind. In this he is eminently successful. His 
charges, too, are often presented with a manner and language perfectly 
original. A nod, a gesture, or a frown, will often convey more mean- 
ing than words. It is not to be denied, but that his mind is acute and 
clear, and, whilst he adheres with tenacity to well-considered opinions, 
no man on the bench seems more free from "pride of opinion ;" he 
never regards it as disreputable, or, in the slightest degree, compromis- 
ing his dignity, to change, if convinced that he is wrong ; and no man 
will do so with more ingenuousness or promptitude. From this habit 
of mind results the fact, that there is not a judge upon the Circuit Court 
bench v/ho will, to use a lawyer's phraseology, and which lawyers 
know means so much, " give a fairer bill of exceptions." 

In the discharge of his official duties Judge Pickens is a most dili- 
gent and laborious officer. He is never known to omit holding a court 
at the appointed time, if physically possible ; and considering his 
apparent feebleness of body he performs a prodigious amount of labor. 
In the conduct of business in court he is always prompt and energetic, 
and ordinarily a patient listener to whatever may be urged by counsel. 
To sum up, he is to the bar courteous, affible, and easy of access. h\ 
his courts, without an apparent eflc»rt on his part, the most perfect 
order is preserved, and prompt obedience seems to be rendered by the 



284 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS 

populace, more through love than fear, and yet the refractory ha\e 
ample cause to fear him if he should find it necessary to exert hia 
judicial power over them. 

I have already stated that h is administration of the criminal law has 
been highly beneficial to the community, and I can state, with equal 
truth, that such has been the case with his general administration. A 
high regard for " law and order," and a clear appreciation of the rights 
and obligations of each member of society, marks and defines his 
general conduct as a man and as an officer. In the conduct of causes, 
if he has prejudices, either for or against the parties litigant, the most 
accurate observer would not be likely to detect them. It has been 
often said that he is less lenient to his friends than his enemies. 
However this may be, it is very certain that he is no Themistocles in 
his habits. His attention to evidence in the progress of a trial forms 
a peculiar characteristic in his administration. His memory is re- 
markably tenacious, and he is rarely at fault in his recollection of testi- 
mony. 

As one of the many evidences which could be produced of the esti- 
mation in which he is held by the peo2)le, we subjoin the following. It 
was in his own county, where he had lived and labored longest, where 
the people knew him best, that at the close of a long and tedious ses- 
sion he received this testimonial : 

" To the Hon. Ezekiel Picke/?s, judge of the second judicial court. 

" We, the undersigned jurors, for the third week of the circuit court, of 
Dallas county, who compose jury No, 1, would respectfully say to 
your honor, after having discharged their duties as said jurors during 
the present week, and being as such discharged by the court, that they 
are unanimous in the desire to express to your honor their entire satis- 
faction at the kindness and consideration with which they have been 
uniformly treated during the week, and also to assure your honor that, 
under the circumstances, they have discharged, to the best of their 
ability, the very arduous and responsible duties of serving as jurors. 

" In taking leave of the court, though happy to be at liberty to re- 
turn to our respective homes, we regret the termination of the pleasant 
intercourse which, during the week, has existed between your honor 
as the presiding officer and themselves as a component part of the 
court, and we beg leave, respectfully, to assure you that we remain, 
one and all, 

" Respectfblly, your friends, 

" G W. Hardy, Foreman." 
Signed by eleven others. 

On the 25th December, 1838, the democratic republican delegates 
assembled in convention at Tuscaloosa to nominate a candidate to re- 
present this district in the Congress of the United States, and the choice 
fell upon Judge Pickens. He was, however, compelled, by private 
reasons, to decline accepting, but as he did so he set out at full length 
his views of the politics of that exciting period, in a letter addressed 
to the convention. We regret that our space forbids its insertion, and 
will be content to give a few extracts : 

" On the crash of the artificial system under which most of us had 



EZEKIEL PICKENS, OF ALABAMA. 285 

been raised, and therefore, for the moment, knew little of any other, 
there was much apparent reason with those who proposed a national 
bank as the only means of restoration. The crisis occurring subsequent 
to withholding a renewal of charter, looked very like cause and effect, 
and seemed to authorize the then confident prediction that there could 
be no relief but by a national bank. 

'• Those who thought the malady was in the system ; that the less 
artificial a system, the less subject to disorder ; who believed m the 
absolute necessity of not only having a legal measure of values, but of 
giving it practical operation ; who believed the constitution only autho- 
rized the general government to furnish the measure, but forbid it to 
organize any agent to substitute a different measure; such proposed, as 
one remedy, the gradual but finally entire separation of the finances 
from the banks, which had heretofore furnished the only practical mea 
sure, if that which was never at two intervals of the same length, can 
be so called, and proposed the collection of the government dues in 
the constitutional standard, gold or silver. 

" The results anticipated were, that the national government, bound to 
raise, feed, and pay an army and navy for the protection of our commerce, 
our national rights, and national honor, might, at all times, at every 
moment, be in an attitude to perform her functions and be placed be- 
yond contingency as to means and medium. Another scarcely less de- 
sirable was, that by giving a practical application to the most unerring 
measure of values, excessive paper issues, synonymous with false mea- 
sures, would be restrained, and thus a sound currency given to all, as 
far as the fiscal action of the government could eflect the object, leav- 
ing whatever else might be required to state legislation. 

" The proposed remedy was characterized by those in favor of the 

other system, as intended to give a good currency to the office-holder, 

but a bad one to the people ; as calculated to break up all banks, and 

annihilate the credit system; with similar arguments, appealing directly 

to the interest of the stockholder, and the terror of all under their grasp." 
************ 

" A false currency cannot circulate unless there are those to take and 
transmit. When the merchant or money-dealer refuses, its deficiency 
being exposed, it goes backward till its origin is found ; the better takes 
its place, and so the action continues until the best becomes common. 
The general government is our largest dealer, and though nothing com 
pared with the aggregate dealers, yet, being the largest, and its financial 
operations diffused, pervading the whole circle, exerts a powerful in- 
fluence for restoration. 

On the other hand, whatever the government takes, the importer 
will take ; what he takes, the whole mercantile community will take, 
and what they do every one will ; and so long as the government will 
take, the worse it is, the more anxious all are to get, to put it on the 
government. No department, no class, no line of business left, whose 
duty or habit is to apply the standard, convenience to day becomes 
habit to-morrow; confidence becomes credulity; the thing is looked 
upon as money, and so the tide rolls on until the whole financial system 
becomes rotten. Men and government, property and prosperity, in- 



286 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

gulfed in a deluge, and without ark. No, no! not all ingulfed, the 
banks, sagacious, entitled to superior privileges, usually are armed with 
legal instruments of more efficacy and more speed than are enjoyed by 
the mass, to meet a coming storm; which their position, too, affording 
superior means of foresight, render them less regardful of its approach; 
especially so, when general disaster does not necessarily reduce bank 
profit. But infinitely is this tendency to depreciation increased, when 
the money of the government, or what it takes as money, is returned 
back to those who put it forth, not for redemption, but to be again 
placed as a credit to the government and re-issued as money. In all 
this there is no money, no measure, no application of standard. This 
system and mode of operation it is which invites excessive issues, 
creates a show of prosperity, excites hope but to destroy its victim ; 
this it is which commences by appearing to raise the value of property, 
stimulates speculation, whets avarice, invites thousands to abandon 
honest and honorable occupations to pursue the phantom of sudden 
wealth, requiring continual increase of issues to keep pace with the 
rise in property — still no money, no measure ; this it is which would 
speedily convert the large mass of the nation into consumers instead of 
producers, into speculators instead of merchants, into swindlers instead 
of honest men. In such a state of things, when he sees others, as he 
supposes, getting rich around him, can we expect the public agent to be 
satisfied with the slow gains of official pay 1 No; if he is the keeper 
of money, with moderate fortitude, he will risk it on the advancing tide 
of speculation, the weaker will embezzle. In this thing, in this artifi- 
cial gain — without work — contrived, unbridled system, is the source 
of corruption, and when this state of things is brought about, the very 
agent in the mischief has art enough, pecuniary or otherwise, to have it 
sanctioned. Of this, however, we will see." 

These brief extracts will suffice to show upon which "side of the 
fence" Judge Pickens is to be found. 

As a man and a citizen, Judge Pickens stands deservedly high. As 
a man, there rests not a single stain upon his reputation. Such is the 
strict fidelity of his dealings with his fellow-men — so perfectly free from 
all disguise, by which he himself could reap benefits to the detriment of 
others, that even Cato the Censor would have given him his approval. 
As a citizen, he is eminently public spirited, and engages eagerly and 
earnestly in all the improvements of the day. He is fully up with this 
progressive age in carrying forward the physical, moral, social and in- 
tellectual developments. 

I have intimated above, that a stranger would regard the judge as 
eccentric. He certainly is so, but it is more an eccentricity of manner 
than anything else, and if originally assumed, has become a part now^ 
of his very nature. The chief characteristic of this eccentricity is droll- 
ness, if I may use such an expression, which forces upon you an irre- 
pressible disposition to laugh at all he says or does. He seems him- 
self not insensible to this, and possessing a keen sense of the ludicrous, 
he often enjoys the laugh even at his own expense. 

I am very far from saying that Judge Pickens is a faultless character, 
but I do say, and I think his neighbors, those who have known him 
longest and best, will bear me testimony, that his prominent virtues so 



EZEKIEL PICKENS, OF ALABAMA. 287 

far excel his faults, that he may be safely set down as a most uprignt 
and worthy citizen, as well as a most laborious, able and faithful officer. 

With a short personal sketch I close this brief notice. 

EzEKiEL Pickens was born in December, 1794, in the city of Charles- 
ton, South Carolina. His father, Ezekiel, was the eldest son of Gen. 
Andrew Pickens, a sketch of whom may be seen in the " National 
Portrait Gallery," and of his wife in "The Women of the Revolution." 
The family name of his mother was Bonneaux, of Huguenot descent. 

Both parents dying about 1811 or 1812, he was placed by his 
uncle. Colonel Andrew Pickens, who was then in the army, at school. 
Shortly afterwards he entered South Carolina College, and after com- 
pleting his course, graduated with a law honor, — though the judge at 
this day tells us that he knew none of the studies accurately, and is 
more than ever at a loss to account for the manner in which he obtain- 
ed it. In 1816 or 1817 he left college, and acted for a short time as 
private secretary to his uncle Andrew Pickens, who was then governor. 
His next step was to remove to Abbeville in order to enter the office of 
his brother-in-law. Col. Patrick Noble, to study law. 

In ]\Iarch, 1820, he removed to Alabama, and stopped where his 
uncle had just located, near Cahawba, the then seat of government, 
rapidly developing, and crowded with lawyers. He was admitted to 
practice in May of that year before the Supreme Court, and although 
he stood a good examination, he tells us that he knew little of the law. 
It is proper here to state that the time from the period he entered the 
office of Col. Noble was not wholly occupied in study. Becoming dis- 
satisfied and distrustful of his powers, and feeling sadly the waste of his 
college hours, he abandoned his law books and visited the northern 
cities. He spent in New-England nearly two years, which left him 
scarcely two years to pursue his studies. 

His first effort at law was a decided failure, and he seriouslv thouiiht 
of quitting the profession. But his feelings of pride restrained him, and 
he doubled his efforts to succeed. His relations urged him to remain 
at Cahawba, but seeing the number of lawyers already there, he was 
deterred. In January, 1821, he removed to Linden, (then called 
Screamersville,) Marengo counry. He soon had a log-caV)in erected, in 
which he opened his office — (this was the first law office in Marengo) — 
a house twelve feet by fifteen — a door of rived pine boards, with 
wooden hinges, w^hich caused an audible screech whenever opened or 
shut. 

Here he settled, and as he has often since said, soon became contented. 
There was no other lawyer within twenty miles, and to this may 
be attributed much of his success. He was thrown upon his own 
resources and turned for aid to his books. Young lawyers are gene- 
rally deficient in that branch of their profession whioh is familiar to the 
most ignorant backwoodsman, and they are very apt to take up an 
ineradicable notion about the merits or demerits of a " limb of the 
law." He tells us that he always (at that period) viewed the ap- 
proach of a client with " fear and trembling," and only discovered 
every day how little he knew. This, however — by a diligent applica 
tion to his books — soon wore ofli", and he saw business flowing to his 
little log office. 



288 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Among his first cases was one where an English tailor named Marks 
had been bound over by a man named Hainsworth for a breach of 
the peace. Marks had engaged him, and detailed the circumstances at 
the request of P. in writing, which statement the young attorney 
thought carried verity on its face. He, however, doubted whether a 
bill would be found, as Hainsworth was a man of property — violent in 
his disposition — so much so that the neighborhood were kept in 
constant dread of him. He therefore paid but little attention to 
the matter ; yet one was returned for an assault with intent to murder. 
He therefore prepared himself for the trial, and advised the employ- 
ment of more experienced counsel to assist. The only witness Marks 
relied on was an old woman of humble station, and who, as he learned 
afterwards, Hainsworth had used every means to destroy in reputation, 
and for reasons other than those connected M'ith this transaction. She 
was the only witness to meet this artful man, and while Hainsworth 
was under examination P. became very uneasy and provoked — turn- 
ing to Marks he upbraided him with having deceived him. He replied 
with confidence, " Call Mrs. Lane," " call Mrs. Lane." His manner 
re-assured him. Hainsworth made out a clear case seemingly, and the 
prosecution closed. The defence then opened, Mrs. Lane was called 
to the witness stand and told her story, as none but a woman can tell 
it — every eff"ort was made to enti'ap her in vain. Her story was 
directly contrary to Hainsworth's. The assistant counsel for the de- 
fence proceeded to address the jury in a cold, desponding speech, 
and sat down without accomplishing anything. It was evident he felt 
it a bad case. Not so however with Pickens. He believed that 
he had right on his side; the conviction stirred within, and filled 
him with indignation. He rose under such feelings to address the jury ; 
his bashfiilness forsook him, and he advocated the cause of the injui'ed 
man in a speech of remarkable power. Dealing in no polished 
language, or finely turned periods, he confined himself strictly to the 
facts, and presented a concatenation of circumstances so intricately 
interwoven, that the guilt of Hainsworth was irresistible. The jury in 
a few minutes returned a verdict of " not guilty." Which result he 
has been heard to say gratified him more than any he has since 
obtained. 

In the latter part of 1820 he removed from ^' Screamersville^'' or Lin- 
den, to Erie, in Greene county, the then seat of justice. Here he formed 
a partnership with Seth Barton, Esq., late minister of the United States 
to Chili, who resided then in Tuscaloosa. In 1825, Erie proving sickly, 
he removed to Greensborough, now a flourishing town in Greene coun- 
ty, his business steadily increasing. Shortly after this the seat of gov- 
ernment was removed from Cahawba to Tuscaloosa, and Mr. Pickens 
yielded to the intreaties of his relatives and removed to Dallas county, 
and settled near Selma. With the removal of the capital a good deal 
of business and lawyers left the county, and he felt himself better able 
to cope with those who remained than formerly. About 1837 he pur- 
chased a small tract of land, where he now resides, and having no 
slaves of his own, invited his brother Samuel Pickens, who possessed a 
number of slaves, to reside on and cultivate it. He did so, and they 
resided together until the death of his brother a short time since. The 



EZEKIEL PICKENS, OF ALABAMA. 289 

judge, however, realized from his practice sufficient to enable him to 
purchase at intervals slaves and also to add to his farm, and he is at 
this time enjoying a fair competency. 

In Dallas he formed a partnership with James M. Calhoun, Esq., a 
lawyer of marked ability, and who has since risen to eminence in the 
state. 

Shortly after their dissolution, which was occasioned by Judge Cal- 
houn's entering the political arena, he formed a partnership with James 
B, Clarke, Esq., now chancellor of the middle division of the state. 

Being constitutionally feeble, the increase of business nearly pros- 
trated him, and at the solicitation of his friends he appeared before the 
legislature, at the session of 1834, a candidate for judge of the circuit 
court. He was beaten, however, by John S. Hunter, Esq. Judge Hun- 
ter resigned in a short time, and Judge Pickens was commissioned to 
his vacancy in August, 1835, and in the winter of that year was elected 
by the legislature over George W. Gayle, Esq., by a large majority. At 
the session of 1836, the salary of the circuit judges thereafter to be 
elected was increased, and with all the other judges but one, he resigned 
and was immediately re-appointed by the governor. He was elected 
by the legislature again in 1837, and was elected again in 1842. In 
1847 he had again determined to be a candidate, but being on the cir 
cuit until three days before the election, he found on his arrival at 
Montgomery, that Judge Cook had thoroughly canvassed the legislature, 
and that from some unknown cause great efforts were made todefeat 
him. He made no great effort to obtain votes, merely mentio ing to 
his friends his desire to run. Upon counting the votes it was found 
that out of one hundred and eighteen votes, Cook succeeded by but four 
votes. His term lacked about eighteen months of its expiration, but 
deeming the vote of the legislature the expression of its opinion he re- 
signed, and devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, with no expecta- 
tion or desire of again appearing in public life. 

At the session of 1849, the legislature enacted a law, giving the elec- 
tion of judges to the people, and Judge Pickens, understanding that it 
was the general wish he should become a candidate, yielded at the sac- 
rifice of his private feelings. This election was conducted on all sides 
with marked courtesy, and an agreement among the several candidates 
at the outset, to the effect that they would abstain from electioneering, 
was I believe strictly adhered to. The election resulted, as before stated, 
in the triumphant election of Judge Pickens, he receiving 2424 votes 
and his two competitors receiving jointly but 2077 votes. 

The judge was elected to the legislature once from Greene and once 
from Dallas, and three years ago was spoken of in connection with the 
gubernatorial chair. But he positively declined being considered a can- 
didate before the convention for the nomination. There is little doubt, 
had he consented to it, that he would have been elected. 

Judge Pickens is in stature about five feet two or three inches, and 
well formed ; eyes large and a dark brown color, and when excited in- 
dicate action and intenseness, his forehead is elevated but not promi- 
nent, dark hair and complexion. He bears his age well and gives 
promise of many years of usefulness and activity. 

19 



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OFBOSTOW. MASSjICSUSETTS . 



^71^ ^-fbr SwoTOfihicab Sketck&s of ljmment.dm£ncanfXaJwy^s 



HON. WILLARD PHILLIPS, 

OF BOSTOK, MASSACHUSETTS 

WiLLARD Phillips is one of the many Americans, especially New- 
Englanders, who are the architects of their own fortunes, having com 
menced life under what are usually esteemed, and, to many young 
men, are in fact great disadvantages in the way of- obtaining an advan- 
tageous social position. In his case, as in many others, the bearing up 
against the obstacles from want of pecuniary means and external helps, 
and overcoming them, constituted, of itself^ a very useful part of edu- 
cation. Bridgewater, in the counly of Plymouth, or The Old Colony, 
as it is more frequently called, in Massachusetts, was his native town, 
where he was born on the 19th of December, 1784. His infancy was 
passed there, and his childhood on the borders of Northampton and 
Williamsburgh, in the county of Hampshire, where his relatives re- 
sided, and his youth, to the age of nineteen, in the town of Cumming- 
ton in the same county. To that age his only means of education 
were the common schools of the time, namely, at first that of a school- 
mistress in summer, and a schoolmaster for the winter months, and 
afterwards only the latter, in which Noah Webster's spelling-book was 
the principal classic. At the age of eighteen, having gone through the 
usual transformation of New-England boys of any bookish propensi- 
ties, from pupil to instructor, he took charge of a school in the neigh- 
boring town of Goshen. He has recently, as he relates, passed thi'ough 
this same neighborhood, which, after an intervening half century, sug- 
gested thick coming reminiscences and reflections. He at first, on re- 
visiting the scene, supposed himself to be alone, near his old boarding- 
house, now going to decay, in the midst of another and strange genera- 
tion, until the past and present were brought into connection, by meet- 
ing with one of his younger pupils, whose vivid and affectionate recol- 
lection of his early teacher occasioned a cordial greeting, and who 
gave an account of the fortunes and fates of those of the former old 
people, now^ dead, and former young people, now old. 

Young Phillips had always been in the advanced rank among those 
of his own age in the studies then pursued in the public schools, the 
attendance on which were interludes to his agricultural employment. 
At the age last above-mentioned, after teaching a second time for a few 
months in the town of Chesterfield, he. broke ground in the Latin lan- 
guage under the instruction of his fellow townsman, companion and 
friend of the same age, Calvin Briggs, who having graduated at Wil- 
liams College, was then studying under Dr. Bryant, a distinguished 
medical practitioner, and father of William Cullen Bryant, since* so 
well known by his literary reputation on both sides of the Atlantic. 
Between the last named and Judge Phillips, a friendship subsequently 
sprung up and still subsists. Dr. Briggs, by whose assistance Phillips 
w^as initiated into the rudimental mysteries of Latin, afterwards set- 
tled in Marblehead, where he continued in medical practice until hia 
death, in the present year of 1852, between whom and his former 



2\)2 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



pupil, a mutual regard was always maintained, although their differ 
ent paths seldom admitted of their meeting. 

Phillips early decided on Harvard as the place of his education. 
The prospect was not without its discouragements. Education at this 
or any similar institution, cannot be obtained without a considerable 
expense for one whose only means are his learning and his credit, but 
he " bated not a jot of heart or hope," being always cheered on by his 
friends. He next pursued his studies for a considerable time with Mr. 
James Thomas, of Bridgewater, who had in his youth been pronounced 
bachelor of arts by the authority of the government of Harvard Col 
lege, and by the same authority commissioned to teach others — a 
privilege of which he had availed himself to some extent, but had 
never made teaching, or either of the employments sometimes by 
courtesy denominated the learned professions, his regular business. 
His residence was on his own grounds, in the midst of pleasant 
orchards and fields; he kept large feathered flocks, carried on his farm, 
laboring himself withal, in which his pupil joined him a part of the 
time. At this time and afterwards, until pretty well advanced in life, 
Mr. Thomas continued a bachelor, not only as far as the arts and 
sciences, and the commission issued by authority committed to the 
president of Harvard College, were concerned, but also in respect to 
what Mr. Oldbuck would call " the woman kind." Mr. Phillips was 
afterwards for a few months the pupil of the Rev. Mr. Niles, of Abing- 
ton, finished his studies, preparatory to entering college, at the academy 
of what was at that time the south parish of Bridgewater, a flourishing 
institution in a pleasant locality then under the preceptorship of Richard 
Sanger, who had been recently a tutor in Harvard College, and was 
accordingly well versed in all the learning necessary for matriculation 
there. While at this institution Phillips boarded in the family of 
Dr. Noah Fearing, the principal physician of the place, whom he takes 
pleasure in commemorating as from that time one of his most at- 
tached and kindest friends, who with one other subsequently advanced 
to him all the means requisite (in addition to his earnings by teaching 
and otherwise) for completing his education, solely on his own personal 
responsibility. The debt thus contracted was finally discharged with 
interest, when he said to Phillips, that soon after the latter became an 
inmate of his family, he had resolved to become the creditor of his 
new acquaintance to any amount requisite to meet the expenses of the 
university. 

After filling the period of two years and a half with study, and 
teaching others in the towns of Abington, Easton and Marshfield, with 
other auxiliary industry, Phillips found himself on horseback with Mr. 
Sanger's certificate of his moral character in his pocket, on the day of the 
aniVial commencment in the summer of 1806, with his face set Cam- 
bridge-ward. The route was, as he states, by the way of Boston, on a 
somewhat cloudy evening, through streets rather perplexing. The scene 
was one of an exhilarating mysterious tumultuousness, to a solitary 
wayfarer in the night time on his first visit. If a thronged city is new 
to him, he does not soon forget the interminable rows of lamps in the 
streets and on the bridges; throngs of people jolting each other, and 



"VVILLARD PHILLIPS, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 293 

hurrying to and fro, seemingly not knowing whither or wherefore ; 
rumbling of carriages on the pavements and on the bridges far and 
near, and sounds of voices and musical instruments in the dwellings, 
and apparitions in gay attire seen here and there through an open door 
or window. 

When all these novelties were left behind, and the uproar of the city 
had subsided into a distant " solemn roar" of the bells giving signal to 
exemplary people to extinguish their lights, the scene changed, and 
Cambridge presented itself, with tents arranged in the manner of 
streets on the common, with shows, music, dancing, and revelries, 
menageries of wild beasts, jugglers, and all the antics, and frolics and 
follies which constituted the fifth act of the commencement drama of 
the good old time. 

On the following day the trial of the candidates, conducted by in- 
quisitors in black dresses, being passed, Phillips found himself one of a 
band of sixty-four admitted freshmen, quite a large class for those 
times. A number of these, then new acquaintances, in his case (as 
often happens) have contributed very materially to those sociabilities, 
sympathies and mutual good offices, which go to make up an important 
part of what is called one's life, not merely for the four college years of 
it, but also the subsequent ones. Among the number were some who 
have since been known to the public, viz. : Joseph G. Kendall, member 
of Congress from Massachusetts ; Jas. G. King, of New-York, who has 
also been member of Congress from New-Jersey ; Wm. I^\ De Saussure, 
of South Carolina, member of the Senate of the United States in 1852 ; 
Francis Boot, now of London, distinguished by his attainments in 
natural history, and known to every American who visits England, as 
a skilful, respected, and esteemed physician; Theodore Lyman, -of 
Boston, lately deceased, who published some account of his travels in 
Europe, also a statistical and economical treatise, who enjoyed civil 
distinctions in his own state, and is commemorated for his donations 
while living, and for his bequests for charitable foundations, especially 
to the state reform school in Massachusetts ; Octavius Pickering, 
known by the Reports which bear his name ; Francis Bassett and John 
Davis, both successively clerks of the courts of the United States ; Dr. 
William J. Walker, of Charlestown, Massachusetts, highly distin- 
guished in his profession, particularly as a surgeon ; Benjamin Faneuil 
Hunt, of Charleston, South Carolina, known in the profession of the 
law; John Cotton, distinguished in the niedical profession in ]\Iarietta; 
Stephen Fales, a member of the senate in Ohio ; Jonas Wiieeler, who 
was during a session president of the senate in Maine, and others of 
professional and civil distinction, and others again, some of whom are 
subsequently mentioned, less known to the public, perhaps, but not less 
meritorious or worthy to be remembered, if it were the present purpose 
to give a full catalogue of Judge Phillips' intimate friends. 

There were, however, two other of his classmates who were fellow- 
graduates with him whom he desires to be particularly mentioned; one 
of them, his very intimate friend and companion, Joseph Swasey Farley, 
of Ipswich, Massachusetts, the first scholar and most talented member 
of his class. Farley gained the first prize, and Phillips the second, for 
dissertations — then, as now, given to the Sophomores. He engaged in 



294 SKETCriES of eminent AMERICANS. 

mercantile life, and died early in the East Indies. The other classmate 
referred to was Edward Strong, youngest son of Caleb Strong, then, 
and for some years afterwards. Governor of Massachusetts. Strong 
was Phillips' chum iu^ their senior year. He was talented and accom- 
plished, but extremely unpretending, to which, in some degree, was at- 
tributed his being omitted in the distribution of parts for public per- 
formance at the graduation of his class. His friend and chum thereupon 
used his influence with the class to have him elected to make the ad- 
dress to them on leaving college, which is usually assigned to one 
holding a distinguished rank for scholarship. Strong came off with 
much eclat, and fully justified the appointment. He died soon after 
being graduated, and his memory is affectionately remembered by all 
who knew him, especially by his chum. 

Judge Phillips relates that, after one of the vacations, Strong men- 
tioned, that Greek studies happening to be the subject of conversation 
at some time while he had been at home in Northampton, his father, 
then considerably advanced In years, surprised him by incidentally re- 
peating, unhesitatingly, from memory, some fifty lines, more or less, of 
the beginning of the Iliad — an indication of early scholarship and of a 
retentive memory which few of his successors at college could give. 

The subject of this sketch was on intimate terms of friendship with 
most of those above mentioned, and with some others of the class sub- 
sequently mentioned, and the friendship continued with those who have de- 
ceased during their lives, and still continues with the survivors; and he 
states, that he does not recollect to have had any misunderstanding, or 
reciprocation of injuries, resentments, or jealousies, with any of his uni- 
versity associates during his life ; and they have afforded him material 
help in his social, literary, professional, and business pursuits, during his 
subsequent years, which he has been ready to reciprocate. 

In his junior or senior j^ear, there was assigned to him the leading per- 
formance at one of the exhibitions, which, as it happened, was the occasion 
of his contracting one of his most grateful and cherished friendships. Mr. 
Peter Wainwright, and Mrs. Wainwright, his wife, the daughter of the 
distinguished Dr. Jonathan Mayhew, formerly of Boston, and mother of 
Dr. Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright, of New- York, were then residing in 
Cambridge. Mrs. Wainwright happened to be present at the exhibition. 
Something in Phillips' performance, or his manner — not his good de- 
livery, for he did not speak set performances well — struck Mrs. Wain- 
wright's attention and excited her interest, and she invited him to her 
house ; and from that time until her death, some twenty years after- 
wards, the most intimate, and mutually-confiding, and never varying 
friendship continued to subsist between them, and still subsists between 
Judge Phillips and her surviving sons. Mrs. Wainwright was, in many 
respects, an extraordinary woman. She was of a social disposition, and 
possessed surpassing powers of conversation ; she was philanthropic, 
liberal-minded, and intellectual ; somewhat adventurous and specula- 
tive, but high-toned in her haliits of thinking; a very considerable 
reader ; had resided some years in England ; had a wide acquaintance 
with leading and distinguished persons ; was a good observer, and did 
not forget what she had learned. She was, accordingly, an exceedingly 
interesting and useful friend to one who was in the period of his social 



WILLARD PHILLIPS, OF MASSACHCSETTS. 295 

noviciate, when the society of an intelligent, cultivated female, of greater 
age and experience, is most material. 

Besides the small fund of some hundred and thirty dollars with 
which Phillips started at the university, with such economy as he could 
practice, and such alleviations of the expense as the college could lend, 
and such auxiliary aid as teaching during the winter vacations would 
afford, he found himself, on leaving college, encumbered with a liability 
of some six hundred dollars, which it behooved him to provide for while 
he was acquiring his profession. He, accordingly, immediately became 
an assistant to the Rev. Dr. Asa Eaton, in a school in Boston, giving 
part of his time to professional studies by reading Coke upon Littleton 
with his friend and classmate, Kendall. In the latter part of the year, 
through the influence of his classmate in college, and ever since intimate 
friend, Thomas A. Dexter, Esq., he began a school on his own account, 
which he gave up before the end of the year, on being appointed tutor 
in college, as teacher in Latin at first, and afterwards in arithmetic, 
geometry, and natural philosophy, during four years in the whole. 

In his senior year his eyes had begun to be weak, so that he depended 
partly upon his chum. Strong, for reading, particularly during evenings. 
Their habit was, when the next morning's lesson had been studied or 
neglected, and all the preparations for sleep made, except extinguishing 
the light placed near to Strong's bed conveniently for reading, to give 
the remaining hour to some English classic, whose pages Strong's melo- 
dious tone, fluent, distinct utterance, and graceful inflexions and ca- 
dences, (all spontaneous, and inherited from his father,) made more 



mteresting. 



Judge Phillips' sight has been occasionally quite weak, and never 
strong to the present time, so that he has not usually been able to use 
his eyes for continuous reading, at most, over two or three hours in the 
twenty-four. He has accordingly depended partly upon some friend 
for eyesight, which, though it has compelled him to total abstinence 
from the delightful solitary nocturnal reveries of intemperate reading, 
to which he might otherwise have had the satisfaction of addicting him 
self, yet it has been attended, like most troubles, with its compensa- 
tions, for he has most of his life, since reading some of the best authors 
with Strong, to the present time, had some associate with whom to 
read with mutual interest on one subject or another, and much of the 
time his companions have been such that social reading has been as 
instructive, as well as more agreeable, than solitary could have been. 

The period of years passed by him at the university was in the early 
part of Dr. Kirkland's presidency, whose friendship towards Mr. Phillips 
then began, and continued during his life, which the latter reckons as 
one of the most fortunate circumstances of his own. Every one who 
was on terms of intimacy with Dr. Kirkland cherishes the remembrance 
of him with admiration and affection. He was, in person, well organ- 
ized and proportioned ; his features, which may now be witnessed, as 
rescued from time, in the likeness painted by Stewart, hanging in Har- 
vard hall, were of a fine cast; his aspect was winning, and full of be- 
nignity ; his manners were marked by a gentlemanly, polished, serene, 
negligent ease, and civil frankness. He had an instinctive perception 
of the characters of people, and was quick to observe their foibles and 



296 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

weaknesses, as well as their excellencies; and so free was he from 
jealousy, envy, selfishness, and conceit, that no person more heartily 
admired and applauded those excellencies and performances which came 
most nearly in competition with his own pretensions. He had read 
largely, and remembered well ; his taste was accurate ; he had a keen 
wit, and great felicity of phrase. His very deficiencies, such as de- 
sultoriness, want of steadiness, fixedness, and tenacity of purpose, and 
of a sustained sturdy self reliance, helped to prevent those barriers 
which are not unfrequently raised between persons of trancendent cha- 
racter and their intimate acquaintances, and served to endear him to 
his friends rather than to alienate them. Such is a fragmentary sketch 
of the characteristics of the distinguished Dr. John Thornton Kirkland. 
He treated Mr. Phillips with the greatest kindness, from their first 
acquaintance, introduced him to some of the leading men at that time 
in Massachusetts, particularly to the Hon. George Cabot, to whose kind- 
ness Mr. Phillips was afterwards greatly indebted. 

While Mr. Phillips was instructor in Harvard College the system of the 
scale of merit since used in that institution was introduced. It had beeii 
difficult to assign the performances at commencement and exhibitions, 
for each professor and tutor would, in many instances, assign to the 
same student a different rank of scholarship, and a diflierent degree of 
merit in other respects, and it was not easy for any one to determine 
the comparative merit of the students from those different opinions, as 
it was not possible to understand from a mere general statement how 
much, on the whole, each instructor considered any one to have the 
lead of others in respect to whom the comparison was made, so that no 
notion could be formed of the aggregate result of the various judg- 
ments. The distribution of parts at some exhibition being in discus- 
sion, and the questions becoming more difficult to decide at each sue 
cessive meeting of the faculty, Mr. Phillips at length proposed that 
each should make a scale of merit of the students in question in his de- 
partment. This was opposed by some, particularly one of the older 
professors, on the ground that it would be reducing all the depart- 
ments to an equality, to which Mr. Phillips replied, that they might, if 
the majority chose to do so, give different degrees of weight to the 
different departments. Still it was strenuously opposed. In the mean 
time Mr. Phillips made a list of the different students to whom the dis- 
cussion related, and asked one member after another, separately, while 
the desultory discussion was still going on, what number to put down 
for each, and in this way constructed a scale, and made up the result- 
ing aggregate, all which was done in the course of half of an hour or 
less, without hindering the debate, which was still proceeding to very 
little purpose. Mr. Phillips then read the aggregate of the different 
responses. The process had the effect of putting an end to the 
discussion, for each one being thus furnished with a key to the com- 
parative judgments of the others, readily made up his own, and the 
matters in question were quickly settled, either by an entire unani- 
mity, or by so decided a majority as to preclude further debate. 

The method was so obvious, convenient, and even necessary to any 
satisfactory decision, that it has prevailed ever since in the university, 
not merely in reference to the assignment of parts and awarding dis- 



WILLARD PHILLIPS, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 297 

tinctions, but has been carried too far into the entire discipline in the 
opinion of some persons of weight and authority, so as to cause the 
marks about trivial matters to make too great a figure, and give the de- 
cisions too much of a merely clerical character. They think that the 
scale should not be carried to great minuteness, and that the propor- 
tionate weight of different matters should be regarded, and that the 
addition should not be itself the final judgment, but be subject to the 
exercise of a large discretion. 

Parts of Adams's Roman Antiquities were added to the course of in- 
struction in the college at Mr. Phillips' suggestion, though his impres- 
sion is, that the book was introduced after he left. This branch has 
since been enlarged and other more recent text-books substituted. 

He, also, at the request of President Kirkland, made a sketch for a 
change in the system of instruction, the main features of which were, 
first, that the students should, during their freshman year, have such 
local accommodations as to give them easy access to their instructors, 
at all times of the day, and subject their conduct and studies to more 
constant and direct supervision, while their habits of study and deport- 
ment were forming, besides having regular exercises, as tests of their 
application and proficiency; second, that, in each different branch of study, 
the initiatory training should be much more thorough, and the recita- 
tions and examinations as frequent as practicable, but that, afterwards, 
when the student had made such progress as to be able more success- 
fully to instruct himself, less time should be lost by a whole class or 
division, in waiting for abortive attempts to extort evidence of diligence 
or intelligence from pupils who have made no attempt, or only ineffec- 
tual ones, to learn ; third, that the concurrence and succession of dif- 
ferent branches of study should be modified, so as to render one, in a 
greater degree, a relief and auxiliary to another. 

These propositions have not been specifically acted upon, and there 
may be less chance for improvement, and more practical difficulties in 
the way, than Mr. Phillips supposed on a hasty and imperfect investiga- 
tion. 

During this period, Mr. Phillips made his earlier attempts in print. 
One was a pamphlet printed during the war of 1812, entitled, " An 
Appeal to the Public Spirit of the Federalists and the Good Sense of 
the Democrats," which, however, attracted little notice, and is probably 
forgotten by everybody but the writer, and hardly remembered by him. 
It was an exhortation to both parties, to united energy in defence of 
the country and prosecution of the war. His other attempts were in 
the newspapers, the most elaborate of which was a review of the works 
of Robert Treat Paine, published about 1813, in the Boston Repertory, 
which was more successful than the pamphlet. 

During this second college life, Mr. Phillips, after the first year, pur- 
sued his professional and other studies in company with his classmate, 
Kendall, then his co-instructor and constant companion, and ever after, 
during the life of the latter, his most familiar friend. In the latter part 
of this period, he entered his name in the office of the late Honorable 
"William Sulliv^an, then, in 1815 and 1816, in large practice, an accom- 
plished gentleman, of easy, polished manners, among the leaders in fash- 
ionable life, and also among the leaders, on the federal side, in public 



298 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

affairs ; having then and afterwards, durhig his life, a cordial and con- 
stant regard for his disciple in the law, which was fully reciprocated by 
the latter. 

During December, 1814, and January, 1815, while Mr. Phillips was 
still one of the instructors of Harvard University, an association was 
formed, consisting of President Kirkland, Edward T. Channing, since 
professor in Harvard, Mr. Phillips, and others, for starting a literary 
periodical, under the title of the " New-England Magazine and Review," 
Mr. Phillips being the proposed editor. Articles of association were 
adopted, and sundry meetings were held, the records of which, kept by 
Mr. Channing, as secretary, he has preserved. In a letter written by 
Mr. Channing, January 5th, 1815, he says to his correspondent, "How 
you would have laughed could you have peeped into my snug office 
for two or three days past, and have seen the great men — learned doc- 
tors of law and of divinity, tutors at colleges, editors and publishers — 
holding solemn debate on the magazine ; one writing a prospectus, 
another talking about style, a third counting the cost and chance of suc- 
cess, and, lastly, your correspondent himself listening to all that was 
said, and recording it as secretary of the meeting." 

When the preparations had been made for announcing the publica- 
tion, the associates learned that a similar one was proposed by Mr. 
William Tudor, then just returned from his travels in Europe, and 
since known as author of the Life of James Otis, and other literary 
productions, and also as American Consul at Rio Janeiro, a gentleman 
in high estimation for his manners, accomplishments, literary talents 
and acquirements. He was a personal friend of soine of the associates. 
The field was thereupon left open to him. 

The first number of the bi-monthly " North American Review and 
Miscellaneous Journal" accordingly came out under Mr, Tudor's editor- 
ship in May, 1815, and was continued during a year, at the end of which 
period he put it at the disposal of Mr. Phillips, Mr. Tudor voluntarily 
proposing and choosing to continue editor for one year longer without 
salary. 

In the mean time Mr. Phillips had commenced the practice of law, as 
junior in the office of the Hon. Benjamin Gorham, at that time of high 
forensic reputation, and subsequently a distinguished member of Con- 
gress. The Review, at the time of the pecuniary responsibility being 
assumed by Mr. Phillips, needed the utmost economy as well as all the 
activity, talent and learning that could be brought to its aid to bear 
it up, and Mr. Phillips, seeing that the usual publishers' commission 
weighed heavily upon its resources, had the copies of the number for 
May, 1816, sent from the printers to his office, and a part of them 
were there inclosed and dispatched to subscribers. Messrs. Wells and 
Lilly, then the leading publishing firm in Boston, who had published 
the work the preceding year, very soon, and before all the copies of that 
number had been distributed, liberally offered to publish it during the 
year free of commissions, which helped materially to carry it through 
that year. 

On Mr. Tudor's retiring from the editorship in 1817, an association 
of contributors was formed, consisting of some of the old associates and 
some new ones, viz. : John Gallison, known as the reporter of the early 



WILLARD PHILLIPS, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 299 

decisions of Juclije Storv, a lawyer of early eminence, who died vounu, 
much respected, beloved and regretted ; Nathan Hale, editor of th_' 
Boston Daily Advertiser; Richard H. Dana, since well known in the 
literary world ; Edward T. Channing ; Mr. Phillips ; William Powell 
Mason, successor of Mr. Gallison as reporter of the decisions of Judge 
Story; and Jared Sparks, then tutor in Harvard, whose name is since; 
familiar to the public as an author, and as president of Harvard Col- 
lege. Mr. Sparks was editor, during that year, of the fifth and sixth 
volumes. 

The associates held weekly meetings for reading and deciding upon 
communications, and selecting and distributing subjects to be written 
upon. These, though in some sort business meetings, were kept up 
with much interest, vivacity and harmony, at which the literary friends 
of the associates not unfrequently attended, and the zeal and spirit of 
the association were by degrees infused into the Review, and the effect 
was manifested in reaction by subscriptions and communications. At 
the end of that year, in May, 1818, Mr. Channing succeeded to Sparks as 
editor, at the commencement of the seventh volume, and edited the 
seventh, eighth and ninth volumes, until his appointment in October, 
1819, as Boylston professor in Cambridge University. With the eighth 
volume the Review began to be published quarterly instead of once in 
two months as before. Mr. Everett succeeded to Mr. Channing as editor. 
The proprietorship of the Review was in the same association from 
May, 1818, until it was transferred to Mr. Sparks, in 1823, when he 
resumed the editorship. 

Mr. Phillips was a frequent contributor for some years, and an occa- 
sional one subsequently until about 1836. One of his early articles 
was upon Professor Hedge's logic, then just published, and one of his 
later, on Lord Brougham's ethical volume, upon which Dr. Henry 
Ware, Jr., then professor in the Cambridge Theological school, ex- 
pressed himself in quite commendatory terms in a note to the writer. 
The logic article, though favorable to Professor Hedge's book, was not 
entirely satisfactory to him, because it did not treat the subject with 
sufficient gravity. Most of Mr. Pliillips' articles were upon works of 
imagination and taste, the reviewing of which did not require any special 
preparation, and accordingly did nut interfere with his professional and 
other business pursuits. 

About six years after commencing practice, Mr. Phillips began to 
collect materials for the first edition of his Treatise on Insurance, which 
which was published in 1823, in one volume. The materials for the 
work were collected entirely by resort to the original authorities, hi 
the general distribution of the subjects, and the arrangement and order 
of the topics, no prior treatise was followed, and Chancellor Kent stated 
to the author, early after the latter became personally known to him, 
that he had given Mr. Phillips' division of the subject the preference in 
his lectures, now well known as Kent's Commentaries ; the distribution 
of subjects in which, however, varies considerably from Mr. Phillips' 
Treatise. This remark is mentioned here, because it is some evidence 
that Mr. Phillips had not wholly failed in attempting the very difficult 
I iibor of distributing the subjects and arranging th<5 topics, so much en- 
tangled and interlaced together in this title o^ the law, and because he 



800 



SKETCriES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



cherishes the remembrance of the token of favorable opinion given then 
by Chancellor Kent. 

In this treatise, the author availed himself of Valin's Commentaries 
on the French Ordinance of 1681, much more largely than previous 
elementary writers had, looking upon those commentaries as one of the 
richest magazines of this branch of commercial law, abounding in doc- 
trines which are applicable in all countries, and which do not become 
obsolete ; esteeming Emerigon, though a model in lucidness, learning, 
faithfulness and accuracy, less masterly and profound. 

In preparing this treatise the author was much indebted to the great 
practical experience, science and learning of the late Hon. George Cabot, 
who most obligingly permitted Mr. Phillips to consult him in all matters 
of doctrine and practice in marine insurance, and besides, always during 
his life in the most friendly manner gave the author the benefit of his 
wide experience in affairs and great knowledge of men, communicated 
with the affable dignity, easy grace and coloquial fluency for which he 
was distinguished, and which gave a charm to his conversation. 

In the preface to the first edition of that treatise, the author also aC' 
knowledged his obligations to the late Christian Mayer, Esq., of Baiti- 
more, the president of the Patapsco Insurance Company of that place, a 
well-informed and able practical underwriter, who obligingly and elabo- 
rately replied to the numerous inquiries addressed to him relative to 
the principles and practice of insurance ; and the author was under no 
less obligation to his since deceased friend, Joseph Balch, Esq., of Bos- 
ton, former president of the Merchant's Insurance Company, a gentle- 
man of great ability and indefatigable application in studying and prac- 
tically applying the science of marine insurance, but who through 
modesty declined any public acknowledgment by the author. 

This treatise was well received, and its publication had a favorable 
effect on the author's professional business, as had also his treatise on 
patents, published in 1837, of which Judge Story has spoken in very 
favorable terms in some of his judicial opinions. Both of these works 
were introduced by Judge Story as part of the ancillary course of read- 
ing in the law school of Harvard College. 

In 1825 and 1826, Mr. Phillips was a member of the legislature from 
Boston ; and in 1827, on account of his health having been somewhat 
affected by rather severe application in his sedentary pursuits, he with- 
drew from professional practice for a time, and passed one season in the 
town of Palmer, near Springfield, superintending the erection of build- 
ings and structures for a manufactui'ing establishment, his interest in 
wdiich, and other similar investments, in the depression which followed, 
swept away the fruits of his previous industry, and left him to start dc 
novo at the age of forty-two in making provision for the future. 

At this period he made a voyage to Cuba, on business, with a view 
to the re-establishment of his health. His stay in the island was partly 
in Havana, with his ever since intimate friend, John Morland, and partly 
in the country, at the plantation of the late Mr. Nathaniel Eel lows. 
The climate, the objects, the people, and mode of life, have a great in- 
terest for a stranger from the North; and Mr. Phillips, notunfrequently 
in conversation, refers to the scenes and incidents of the excursion, 
which made a greater impression, as his other travels have extended 



WILLARD PHILLIPS, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 3OI 

only from Portland to Washington on the coasts, and inland to the in- 
terior of New-York, on visits to his, at the time, surviving parent, in 
Broome County, and southwesterly to the valley of Wyoming, in 
Pennsylvania, and northerly to N'agara Falls and Quebec; so that, for 
a person of these times, his journoyings have been quite limited. 

The reminiscences of this voyage to Cuba furnished the materials for a 
part of an article published some time subsequently in the North Ameri- 
can Review,. on a journal of a similar excursion by the Rev. Dr. Abbot, 
of Beverly, in which article the incidents of the voyage were read with 
a gool deal of interest by the late Dr. Bowditch, as he himself stated to 
the author, as being a faithful description of the sea-faring life of a pas- 
senger. 

In 1828, Mr. Phillips resumed professional practice, taking as his junior 
associate Richard Robins, Esq., recently deceased. About 1845 he sub- 
stantially withdrew from practice, though he has continued to be occa- 
sionally consulted by his old clients, and sometimes by others, in mat- 
ters with which he was more particularly conversant. 

In 1837, under an act of the legislature of Massachusetts, a commis- 
sion was issued by Governor Everett, for Charles Jackson, formerly 
judge of the Supreme Court, as chairman, and Mr. Phillips and others 
as associates, for reducing so much of the common law as relates to 
crimes and their incidents to a code. Judge Jackson was obliged by 
the state of his health to retire early from the commission, whereupon 
Mr. Phillips became chairman. The other members were changed by 
resignation and death, and new appointments from time to time. In 1839, 
a preliminary report was drawn up by Mr. Phillips, and a specimen 
of the form proposed to be adopted, in the preparation of which the late 
James C. Alford, of Greenfield, then a member of the commission, took 
an active part. He was at the time elected member of Congress, 
though prevented by "his decease from attending any session. 

A code of the law of crimes and punishments was eventually reported 
by Mr. (then Judge) Phillips and his friend, the Hon. Samuel B. Wal- 
cott. Juage Phillips assiduously devoted all the time he could com- 
mand, by early i-ising, and avoiding interfering engagements, as much 
as was practicable, for full four years, to the arduous work of preparing 
this code, every part of W'hich, before being printed, had been sub 
mitted to skilful and experienced lawyers, not of the commission, who 
had given their approbation. The plan was not to make laws by pro- 
pounding new provisions grounded upon speculative doctrines, but 
merely to express the law as it then existed, and introduce amend- 
ments where the books were contradictory or the defects were palpable, 
the instances of which were always specifically pointed out in the notes. 
The phraseology was studiously selected and guarded, that it might not 
embarrass jurisprudence, and at the same time should enable the peo- 
ple, who are bound by the law, or those whose profession it was to give 
legal counsel to others, to learn, at least, its outlines in matters of 
crimes and punishments, which knowledge is not easily gained in the 
multifarious repositories in common use. But the greater part of the 
profession in Massachusetts were then sturdily opposed to the codifi- 
cation of the common law, considering any attempt of the kind to be 
wholly experimental, and theoretical and dangerous — a sort of Jeremy 



302 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Bentham-ism. Accordingly, when the reported code was before the Se- 
nate, some one of the members, after making a few disparaging remarks 
on codification in general, read, by way of illustration, the definition of 
larceny, which seemed to him open to the grave objection that the sen- 
tence ' was a long one, and thereupon it was voted to dismiss the 
Bubject. 

Such for the time was the result in the legislature of the four years 
arduous labors of Judge Phillips, besides those of the other members 
of the commission. The reported code, however, has been of import- 
ant use in Massachusetts, and has been sought for elsewhere, and not a 
few testimonies have been given to the fidelity, elaborateness and skill 
in the execution of the work, by jurists both in and out of Massachu- 
setts, whose authority is of weight, and who have examined it for other 
purposes than measuring the sentences. Judge Phillips had anticipated 
for some time what would be the result in the legislature, but still pro- 
ceeded with unabated intensity in the execution of the work, out of re- 
gard to his own reputation, which had of course become in some degree 
implicated in the issue, and which he is understood to be still willing 
should rest upon that report. 

While Mr. Everett was governor of the state, in 1839, Mr. Phillips 
was appointed Judge of Probate for the county of Suffolk, an office 
which he held until December, 1847, when he resigned, because he had 
other sufficient and preferable occupations, especially that of president 
of the New-England Mutual Life Insurance Company, which had been 
put into operation in 1843 by numerous" leading and public-spirited 
men in Boston, as an institution much needed, and which would be of 
gi'eat utility, as in fiict it has proved to be. 

The object of this sketch is not to eulogize the subject of it, or to 
say the utmost that truth might justify. It may, however, be said 
without risk of the imputation of partiality, that Judge Phillips dis- 
charged his judicial duties, during the eight years while he held that 
office, satisfactorily to the public, and generally to those who had busi- 
ness in the court. 

In 1833 Judge Phillips married Hannah Brackett Hill, daughter of 
the lat.' Hon, Aaron Hill, who had been many years postmaster in 
Boston. This lady survived her marriage between three and four years. 
He married for a second "wife, Harriet Hill, a sister of the former. 

At the time of his judicial appointment, he resided in Boston, where 
he continued to reside during the winter season, and part of the spring, 
so long as he held the office, passing his summer in Cambridge, where 
he has since resided, though Boston is his place of business and cor- 
respondence. Judge Phillips is at present occupied with a third edition 
of his Treatise on Insurance, which will be published soon after this 
sketch. 

Besides the legal publications and literary contributions already men- 
tioned, Judge Phillips contributed divers articles, including one on Poli- 
tical Economy, to the Encyclopedia Americana, translated and edited 
by Professor Francis Lieber, now of South Carolina; and made a di- 
gest of the first eight volumes of Pickering's Reports in 1832, with 
the assistance of his friend, Edward Pickering, Esq., and edited the 
first American edition of Collyer on Partnership, with the assistance of 



WILLARD PHILLIPS, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 303 

the same collaborator. He also published a treatise under the title of 
" A Manual of Political Economy," in 1829, a great part of which was 
lost by a lire, and in 1850 a duodecimo volume entitled " Propositions 
concerning Piotection and Free Trade." On this subject he hopes to 
write still more, if his health and leisure permit, for the purpose of ex- 
posing what he is well known to consider the groundless and extraordi- 
nary dogmas a;id assumptions which are current under the title of " Free 
Trade," and which have been put into circulation as a part of the science 
of Political Economy, and are taught in our public seminaries as such. 
On this subject Judge Phillips takes a deep interest, because he con- 
siders it next to the preservation of the Union, and hardly second to 
it, the most vitally decisive of the prosperity and progress of the 
country. 




■^.s°--k- 




_2^ 



^y^r:^^:^^^ 



OF ZOUISVILLT, . KENl'WCKY 



HcaL SlatcTies of Z-m-Jii^J. ^TnJ^rioins 



HON. W. F. BULLOCK, 

OF KENTUCKY. 

Biographical sketches of those who have attained merited distinc- 
tion in American law, have a charm and force in them, that commend 
them to every sound thinker. We naturally feel an interest in tracing 
the footsteps of those who have reached elevated positions in public 
confidence, and have wielded their influence for the public good; who, 
loving truth and integrity for their own sakes, have undeviatingly fol- 
lowed their dictates, no matter what the personal consequences might 
be. Records of this kind are calculated to raise the ministrations of 
law in public estimation, and are guides for the junior members of the 
profession, in their pursuit of reputation, distinction and position. 

The Hon. William F. Bullock, whose career we are about to sketch, 
has long been conspicuous in a corps of celebrities, second to none in 
this Union in point of ability and fame. The Kentucky bar has long 
enjoyed a high reputation, and its members have largely influenced the 
character, not only of the Great West, but of the Union. The mother 
of most of the western states, she can point to her deeds in the 
National Councils for the past fifty years, and her sons' glory in the 
fame of her Breckenridge, Nicholas, Davies, Clay, Rowan, Barry, 
Crittenden, Sharp, Boyle, Owsley, Mills, Trimble, Bibb, Robertson, 
and a host of others, who contributed to the imperishable legal renown 
of the state. 

For a long period of time, in the early history of Kentucky, Lexing- 
ton enjoyed a large portion of the renown of the state. That city is the 
centre of one of the richest agricultural districts in the western country. 
The first newspaper printed west of the Alleghany Mountains was 
published in Lexington ; and Transylvania University, for a number ol 
years the most renowned institution in the great valley, was located 
there. From that venerable hall of learning, Kentucky scattered, with 
a profuse hand, her intellectual treasures over the West and South. 
While Transylvania University was under the auspicious administration 
of President Holley, it is doubtful whether any city in the United 
States possessed a larger share of intellectual activity than Lexington. 
A love of literature and science pervaded all ranks; education flourish- 
ed in all its departments; the general pursuit of knowledge which char- 
acterized the people, enabled them to support for many years the finest 
public library in the West, to which was attached reading-rooms, 
containing all the best periodicals in the English language. The great 
genius of Matthew Jouitt, one of the noblest artists upon canvas that 
this country has produced ; and the cultivated taste, public spirit and 
enterprise of John D. Cliflbrd, commanded the prosperity of the fine 
arts in Lexington at this period. Philosophy, literature, classical 
learning, science and art, went hand and hand ; and Lexington was the 
glory, the pride, and the cynosure of the Great Valley. That was the 
golden age of literature, science and art, in the West. 

In addition to the resources of intellectual growth and activity al- 

20 



306 8K>rCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

ready mentioned, Lexington maintained, for about fifteen \'ears, the 
ablest, most prosperous and successftd medical school in the western 
country. The renown of her medical teachers was co-extensive with 
the Union, and none of the successors of this school have ever rivaled 
the ancient fame of the medical department of Transylvania University. 
The reputation of the medical school finally overshadowed the fame of 
the University. 

Nor were the interests of a law school neglected in the midst of 
these intellectual energies; but one was established, as a department of 
the University, which speedily attained a high rank. The genius and abi- 
lities of the bar of Lexington were illustrated by Henry Clay, William 
T. Barry, William Blair, Jesse Bledsoe, Joseph Cabell, Breckenridge, 
and others, who, with less extended fame, enjoyed a high reputation at 
home. 

It was in the midst of these intellectual energies, that the subject of 
the following sketch first saw the light, and to his career we now direct 
the attention of the reader. 

William F. Bullock was born on the 16th January, 1807, in Fayette 
county, Kentucky, of which Lexmgton is the county seat. At an early 
period he exhibited a fondness for study, and such was the proficiency 
attained at a country school, that he entered Transylvania University, 
and graduated in 1824, when he was but seventeen years of age. The 
writer of this sketch knew him at the time of his matriculation in the 
University. No student ever entered those classic halls with a higher 
reputation ; and his devotion to study, his modesty and good habits, 
enabled him to add largely to his youthful fame. At the time of his 
graduation, he was esteemed as second to none of the distinguished 
eleves of Transylvania University, tlien in the zenith of her renown. As 
an orator, he was unrivaled in that institution ; and such was his great 
distinction, that upon the return of Mr. Clay to Kentucky, after his 
vote for Mr. Adams, when his congressional district determined, in its 
own language, " to speak its instructions to Henry Clay, in a language 
that could neither be misunderstood nor mistaken," the youthful orator 
of Transylvania was selected to deliver the speech, welcoming the 
patriot of Kentucky to the hearts of those who had long entrusted 
their political interests to his keeping. It was an occasion of deep ni- 
terest; it drew people from various parts of the state, and an immense 
assembly of Kentuckians, and citizens of other states, was gathered to 
receive the illustrious sage of Ashland. For the time being, the eyes 
of the nation were upon Lexington. The traducers of the fame of her 
most illustrious son looked on the scene with fear and trembling, while 
the friends of the administration of Mr. Adams looked to it as a source 
of hopeful energy and triumph. In the midst of all these great inter- 
ests, in the presence of that great assemblage, indeed, of the American 
people, the young orator of Transylvania addressed a speech of wel- 
come to Henry Clay, that was worthy of the occasion. It was an effort 
of eloquence of which any son of Kentucky might well have been 
proud. Even during the mighty response of Mr. Clay, whether its 
eloquent tones were moving the best feelings of our nature, or its 
withering scorn was hurling its defiance and its anathemas upon the 
heads of those whose machinations were struggling for his ruin, the calm 



W, ¥. BULLOCK, OF KENTUCKY, 307 

and elevated eloquence of the youthful orator worked its way into the 
memories of the people, and placed him conspicuous among the speak 
ers of Kentucky. 

In 1828, Mr. Bullock moved to Louisville, Kentucky, and commenced 
the practice of law, in the midst of as formidable competition as could 
be found in the state. But the same habits that had given him such 
enviable distinction in the curriculum of Transylvania University, soon 
attracted attention to him in his new sphere of duty, and gave him high 
lank among the able men who adorned the Louisville bar. 

After a probation of ten years at the bar, the public voice called 
him to a seat in the Kentucky Legislature. He was a member of the 
House of Representatives, in 1838, 1840 and 1841, and was the author 
of some of the noblest monuments of Kentucky legislation. 

To his well-directed efforts, efforts that never knew fatigue while the 
cause needed exertion, Kentucky is indebted for her common school 
system. He introduced the bill into the legislature, and by his elo- 
quence, his entire mastery of the whole subject, and his untiring labors, 
both as the eloquent exponent of the cause before the representatives 
of the people and the profound writer for the press, he so deeply 
engraved the merits of the common school system upon the public 
mind, that it now defies all the powers of its enemies. Various 
efforts have been made to cripple this system, and the most formidable 
was the attempt in 1843 to cancel the bonds of the state, which had 
been given to the Board of Education, on account of a loan of the mo- 
ney that had been appropriated to the common school system. The 
original appropriation was eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars, a 
portion of the dividend paid to Kentucky from the surplus revenue of 
the general government. This sum was loaned to the state on her 
bonds. In 1843, an attempt was made to cancel these bonds, by which 
the common school system would have been utterly destroyed. Mr. 
Bullock was not at that time a member of the legislature, but he ear- 
nestly appealed, through the press, against this great outrage. While 
the danger lasted, he was always at his post, battling for the cause that 
had enlisted his zeal and his best abilities. To his noble exertions, 
his thorough understanding of the subject, and his persuasive eloquence, 
Kentucky is indebted for her common school system, a system that is 
scattering innumerable blessings among the rising generation. A pro- 
found debt of g-ratitude is due to Judee Bullock for his services in the 
cause of education. 

Nor were the philanthropic exertions of Mr. Bullock, while he was 
in the legislature, confined to the cause of popular education. When 
efforts were first begun in Kentucky for an improved management of 
the insane, those efforts found in him a zealous and intelligent cham- 
pion. In 1842, he produced a profound impression upon the public 
mind, by a report which he submitted to the Kentucky legislature on 
the management of the insane. He acccompanied the report with a 
speech which commanded the attention of the state, and to his exertions 
the triumph of the cause is due. Kentucky has been exceedingly liberal 
since that time in her appropriations to the insane ; and the lunatic 
asylum now compares for excellence with any in the United States. 
To Judge Bullock is due the honor of the improvements ir. Kentucky 



308 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

in atnellorating the condition of the insane. Although a feeling of 
animosity existed at the time between Lexington, where the asylum is 
located, and Louisville, with whose representation he was connected, 
he nobly spurned all local and selfish considerations, and advocated the 
philanthropy for its own sake, lie did for Kentucky what Pinel did 
for France. 

Another crowning glory of Judge Bullock's legislative career, was in 
his successful exertions to procure an endowment from the state for.an 
institution for the education of the blind. His eloquent advocacy of 
the cause, his zeal and energy, were crowned with success ; and, in 
1841, the legislature of Kentucky appropriated ten thousand dollars 
towards establishing a school for the blind. This is the favorite elee- 
mosynary institution in Kentucky. The legislature has been liberal in 
its endowments for its support, and the institution has resources now 
amounting to some twentv-five thousand dollars for the erection of 
buildings and furnishing the school. In one respect, the Kentucky 
school for the blind is in advance of every other in the country. In 
response to an appeal on the part of the tiustees, the legislature gave 
that body the power to confer upon all meritorious graduates of the 
institution a copy of the Bible and of the Constitution of the United 
States, printed in raised letters. The state deserves much credit for 
this noble munificence. 

Judge Bullock was one of the original trustees of this institution, 
and has been one of the most active and useful members of the board 
to the present time. He has been President to the Board of Trustees 
'rom its first organization until now. 

These are the monuments of the legislative career of Judge Bullock, 
and his friends point to them as the characteristics of the man. They 
have conferred unnumbered blessings upon Kentucky, the effects of 
which will go on increasing from year to year. To be the acknowledged 
author of the Common School System of Kentucky, of the vastly im- 
proved means which now exist in Kentucky, by law, for managing, 
protecting and curing the insane, and of the institution for the edu- 
cation of the blind, is an honor of which any man might well feel 
proud. His legislative career is a -model for those who wish to confer 
real blessings upon the commonwealth, and to obtain a good report tor 
themselves. 

After the close of his legislative career, Mr. Bullock again resumed 
the practice of his profession. In 1846, he was appointed to the bench, 
as judge of the fifth judicial district. The appointment gave general 
satisfaction. His high legal reputation, his urbanity of demeanor, his 
decision and firmness, and his universally acknowledged integrity in all 
things, gave an earnest of a successful career in this new sphere of use- 
fulness which has been fully redeemed by his judicial course. There is 
no court in Kentucky that sustains a higher character, nor is there one 
that commands a greater degree of confidence. The interests com- 
mitted to this court are of much greater magnitude than are to be 
found in any other judicial district in Kentucky. Louisville, the com- 
mercial emporium of the state is in the circuit, and the most important 
questions of commercial law are frequently presented for adjudication. 
This court, also, has criminal jurisdiction, and the criminal docket is the 



W. F. BULLOCK. OF KENTUCKY. 309 

largest and most interesting in the slate. This complication necessarily 
requires a judge of ability and learning. The judiciary of Kentucky 
has been adorned with names that would have commanded respect any 
where, but no one has ever attracted a larger show of public confidence 
and respect than Judge Bullock's. A striking evidence of this fact is 
furnished by the election of judges by the people in the sixth year of 
Judge Bullock's judicial life. The new constitution of Kentucky re- 
quires the election of judges by a popular vote; and in 1851, the first 
election took place. The district had been so changed, that but one of 
the former counties in Judge Bullock's district remained, and three 
new ones were added to it. In this state of things, a competitor for 
the office presented himself under auspicious circumstances for success. 
There were portions of the district in which this gentleman had for- 
merly commanded an extraordinary popular vote, and he was supposed 
to be much more favorably known in the new portions of the district 
than Judge Bullock. But the election showed the deep hold that an 
upright and independent judge has upon the public affection. Notwith- 
standing the popularity of his talented opponent, Judge Bullock was 
elected by a large majority. This election is one of the many gratify- 
ing evidences that prove that the people are capable of selecting the 
proper characters for judicial stations. 

In the performance of his judicial functions, Judge Bullock knows no 
authority but duty to law and justice. He is singularly free from all 
those elements that narrow, warp, and bias the mind, and he holds the 
scales of justice with as perfect an equipoise as is possible to any hu- 
man being. He knows neither fear, favor, nor affection, and can neither 
be cajoled nor denounced into doing judicial wrong. He is clear in his 
judgment, prompt in decisions, and firm and unwavering in the dis- 
charge of every duty. The dignity of the court is firmly and steadily 
maintained, and throughout the district entrusted to his care, order, 
based upon law, reigns supreme. The firm, independent and conscien- 
tious discharge of duty has given him a strong hold upon the popular 
sentiment; and the fact that such discharge of judicial duty is the 
surest road to popular favor, is full of promise for the perpetuity of 
our free institutions. An unawed, unswerving judiciary, is the bulwark 
of freedom. 

In 1849, the trustees of the University of Louisville elected Judge 
Bullock to the chair of "The Law of Real Property and the Practice 
of Law, iiicluding Pleading and Evidence," in the law department of 
the university. The preceding sketch of the characteristics of this dis- 
tinguished jurist has prepared the reader for the history of his career as 
a teacher. He is highly appreciated by his eminent colleagues in the 
school, and commands the respect and affection of his classes. He has 
greatly contributed to the success of this department of the university. 
Profoundly versed, as Judge Bullock is, in the science of law, with a 
mind singularly clear and full, possessing great powers of elocution, 
perspicuous and direct in his teachings, with an enlarged and matured 
experience in the practice of law, he could not fail to be a most impres- 
sive and popular teacher. 



310 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

We have thus briefly sketched the character and career of the Hon. 
William F. Bullock, of Kentucky, We have known him from his 
youth upward, and feel no ordinary gratification in recording his pros- 
perous, useful and animating history. In all his various responsibili- 
ties, he has ever been true to the highest interests of humanity, to the 
strictest integrity and to the holiest dictates of justice. In his public 
and private life he has lived as Milton did — 

*' Ever in the great taskmaster's eye." 




'''^'"^^VJC.B^tt.e ftc»-^-S-^'' 



:OlS?^ 








OF HAKTFORD, KBN2VCKY. 



Jih^caied for SwffraphicaZ Skadus of Encuimt Ammams 



JOHN H. M'HENRY, 

OF HARTFORD, KENTUCKY. 

Biography is to the study of human nature what maps and charts ar« 
to the study of Geography, plain illustrations of the facts and principles 
taught in the text. Each truly written biography is but a series of draw- 
ings and diagrams of virtues practised, resulting in veneration and esteem, 
laborious toil and industry finally rewarded, oi' vice, folly, and idleness, 
leading to ignorance, want, and crime. 

What youth that has ever toiled to distinction and fame but was at 
some desponding moment cheered onward to his labors by Plutarch ? This 
author may be looked upon as one of the greatest benefactors of mankind, 
— but what a wider, more glorious field, lies open to the American bio- 
graphers — here, where the highest honors lie open to the humblest indivi- 
dual, where every better feeling of the heart, every sensation of patriotism, 
every prompting of interest and ambition, but point the rising generation 
onwards and upwards, how pleasing the task to point out the way-marks to 
usefulness and honor. 

In a country offering the most powerful inducements to noble efforts 
and noble actions, it is but natural to look for exalted character ; nor do 
we look in vain. No country upon earth has ever produced such a galaxy 
of bright stars as the American Republic, nor is it alone to the halls of 
Legislature, afid titled officers of government, whose names are daily 
heralded to the world, that we are to look for the truly great in American 
society ; but in every section and neighborhood individuals may be found, 
who, despite of poverty and adversity, have, relying upon their own 
native strength, toiled onwards and upwards, and are now enjoying the 
highest stations of honor and usefulness, or if preferring the more substan- 
tial pleasures of private life, are diffusing knowledge, virtue, and patriotism, 
through the calm, but not the less powerful undercurrent of social life. 

The Hon. John H. M'Henry is a stiiking illustration of these reflec- 
tions. His father, the Rev. Barnabas M'Henry, was one of the pioneers of 
Kentucky. He came not, however, as one of the early speculators or land- 
jobbers, seeking to lay the foundations of a worldly fortune, but as an 
humble herald of the cross, and among the first Methodist preachers that 
were sent to the west ; here he toiled faithfully, undergoing all the hard- 
ships and privations incident to such a life at such a period. Penniless, and 
frequently almost coatless, he kept his post in the western wilds until his 
exhausted constitution compelled him, for a time, to abandon his itinerant 
station in the church. He was a man of strict piety, calm and dignified 
demeanor and deportment, and occupied a high and honorable station in 
his church until the period of his death. He married Miss Sarah Hardin, 
daughter of Colonel John Hardin, so noted in the early history of Ken- 
tucky, and who fell a victim to Indian perfidy, while with only an inter- 
preter he was traversing their territory as the bearer of a flag of truce. His 
noble daring and sad fate was thought worthy of a record and place in 
the archives of the nation. 

The subject of this memoir was born in Washington county, Kentucky, 



312 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



on the 13th day of October, 1797. In those early days in Kentucky, in 
most neighborhoods, the benefits of schools were almost unknown ; many 
did not enjoy the opportunity of acquiring the first rudiments of learning ; 
and this might have been his fate had it not been for the kind parental 
care of his father and mother, to whom he was indebted for nearly all the 
tuition he ever received, for he never went to school, except to his father, 
but a few months, and during that time, owing to the ignorance of his 
preceptor, he acquired more bad habits of pronunciation, &c., than all 
his other acquirements compensated for. With the aid of his parents, and 
by his own application, he derived his whole stock of learning, except that 
to tlie kindness of the Rev. John Peitle he was indebted for instruction 
in the science of geometr)'^ and surveying, and his father taught the lion. 
Henry Peitle, now of Louisville, Ky., English grammar in return. 

How many young men, surrounded by fortune and friends, possessing 
every advantage in position and means, have dwindled into insignificance, 
and filled an ignoble grave ; not so, however, with the boy of mettle, spirit, 
and nerve, though in the very backwoods of civilization, deprived of all 
the advantages of a more advanced state of society, his wants and priva- 
tions teach him fortitude, perseverance, and self-reliance. The rapid 
changes wrought by the toiling hand of civilization are but so many les- 
sons on application and industry. The magnificent forests inspire gran- 
deur and simplicity of conception, and the youthful mind draws vigor 
and inspiration from all around. 

Surely, young M'Henry felt these, or some of these influences, for with 
all his difficulties surrounding him, and laden with a portion of the cares 
and drudgeries of his father's family, he had grown up to be a youth of 
suificient promise to arrest the keen, penetrating eye of his maternal uncle, 
Martin D. Hardin, at that time one of the most distinguished lawyers of 
the state, and father of the late and much lamented Colonel John J. Har- 
din, who fell at Buena Vista, adding another bright halo to our national 
glory. 

His uncle invited him to become a resident of his family at Frankfort, 
Ky., and to study law under his tuition and guidance ; he commenced his 
studies in the summer of 1810, and continued in his uncle's family until 
the fall of 1818, at which time he was examined by the then appellate 
judges of the state, Boyle, Owsley, and Logan, who granted him license to 
practise law. 

To the honor of uncle and nephew it may be truly said that no student 
ever felt more true gratitude and veneration for his preceptor than did 
young M'Henry for his uncle, nor was this feeling transient, but it con- 
tinued, and prompted every act of kindness to his widowed aunt and her 
family, to whom he had frequent opportunities of rendering aid and assist- 
ance in the settlement and management of Mr. Hardin's estate, and there 
is no doubt the same feelings glow with unabated warmth to the present 
hour. 

Having obtained license, and become what too many students consider 
a full grown lawyer, his uncle Hardin handed him a letter of advice, and 
as our young friend thought proper to make the following endorsement on 
it — •' Contains advice that must never be forgotten or departed from," and 
as he has been frequently heard to say in after life that he never has 
departed from the same without afterwards having cause to regret it, the 



JOHN U. m'iIKNKY, of HARTFORD, KENTUCKY. 313 

reader will pardon the liberty Lei-e taken of transcribing the letter into 
this memoir, and every young lawyer shoidd treasm'e the rules there laid 
down as a legacy bequeathed him by a distinguished member of the pro- 
fession. The following is a literal copy : — 

Locust Hill, 23d Oct. 1818. 

Dr. John : — There are a few principles for governing a man's actions 
in life that are worth more than ordinary fortunes, especially to profes- 
sional men. I will give a few. 

1st. " What you have to do, do at the first time which it can be 
done." 

This embraces many old proverbs, " take time by the forelock," <fec. 
It requires indusfrtf, — It begets leisure. 

2d. "Do just one thing at a time." In other words, "finish what you 
begin." By this rule everything will be done better and in less time. 

3d. "Never use your client's money." But inform him of its receipt 
by the first mail, and remit by the first opportunity. 

A character for punctuality is thus acquired, a man is never ashamed 
or afraid to meet his client, and he is relieved from remorse which always 
should attend the using another man's money and not replacing it when 
wanted, and I am sure no man can habitually use his client's money and 
yet always have it ready when it ought to be paid, let his wealth and 
credit be what they may. 

I have said nothing about strict moral integrity ; this is indispensable. 
But I trust you stand not in need of any monitions on that head. 

I have attempted to make the above three rules the leading ones in 
my business. 1 never have departed from either but I have felt the eftects 
of it. 

You must not think that as you have got license you are a lawyer, and 
have nothing to do but get suits. Occasionally mixing in company, 
going to public places, and becoming acquainted with the people and 
with human nature, is necessary. But habitual reading and attention 
(that is, remaining in your office) is indispensable. 

If you are closely and persevcrim/h/ industrious you will succeed. If 
you are not, you will fai4 in your hopes. 

Yours, 

J 'no. H. M'Henry. M. D. Hardin. 

With this letter of advice, a small library of books, and the scant 
allowance often dollars in his pocket, this new-fledged lawyer bids adieu 
to his parental roof and kind friends, and seeks a new home among 
strangers. Aware, no doubt, that he could not sustain himself at a 
crowded bai-, he prudently selected a location where there was at that 
time no resident lawyer, and became domiciled with that kind, benevolent 
old landlord, William Cunningham, in the town of Litchfield, Grayson 
County, Ky. And although it may be deemed a digression, the writer 
of this sketch cannot refrain from paying a tribute of respect to this noble- 
hearted, whole-souled old friend. In him was honor and benevolence 
personified ; ever ready to extend a helping hand to rising worth and 
merit, his memory is still cherished in the bosoms of many who were 
invigorated in the dark hour of despondency by his aid and counsel. 



314- SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

"Never (has Mr. M'Henry frequently been heard to say) did he liint 
to me anything Hke a dun, or intimate my arrearages to him, but on the 
contrary, frequently when I would be about to start on my circuit, and 
he had any reason to suppose I was scarce of funds, he would say, ' Now, 
John, are you sure you have money enough to do your round — mind, young 
lawyers don't always have good luck from home, and I don't want my 
boys to feel pinched for money — you had better let me loan you some ; 
you can return it just whenever it gets to be convenient to do so,' and 
my necessities sometimes compelled me to accept of his kind offer, and I 
paid him when and how I could — he always appearing rather to receive 
it to gratifj^ my own sense of justice and right, than his own feelings of 
thrift and gain." 

Unpromising as this location appeared, it proved to be a fortunate one 
to the subject of this sketch. In order to form himself a circuit of six 
counties, he had to practise under four different circuit judges, and was 
thrown into collision at the bar with the lawyers attending those four 
circuits, many of whom were of the first eminence and standing in the 
state. Having no resident lawyer with whom to counsel and advise, nor 
ti-avelling in a regular circuit with other members of the bar, and forming- 
habits of intimacy and looking to them for aid and assistance, he had to 
rely upon his own resources, and instead of continually consulting his 
friends, as young lawyers are too prone to do, he had to consult his books 
alone. And it was to these circumstances mainly that may be attiibuted 
his great excellence and reputation as a special pleader. 

With no oratorical gifts or rhetorical graces, he soon began to acquire 
the reputation of a safe and reliable lawyer. Older advocates of reputation 
found him a useful assistant in the management of a suit, and notwith- 
standing in the argument of a cause he never made a great display, the 
strong and reliable points never escaped his notice. 

A vacancy having occurred in the 14th Judicial District, composed of 
the counties of Breckenridge, Daviess, Henderson, Union, Hopkins, 
Muhlenburg, and Ohio, General John Adair, then Governor of Kentucky, 
appointed him commonwealth attorney for the same, and he immediately 
removed to Hartford, the most central point of his district. 

Here he soon began to reap the fruits of his labors. His duties as 
prosecuting attorney wei'e laborious and arduous in the extreme ; they 
pressed him forward, and compelled him, in a measure, to lay aside that 
bashful timidity so injurious to many worthy young men. He had daily to 
exhibit to the crowd the native strength and vigor of his intellect, and 
the close, logical, and acute powers of his reasoning faculties. Business 
men saw that their causes could be safely intrusted to his hands ; that 
although he did not always gain the applause of the crowd, he ever had 
the ear of the court, and he has ever since occupied a distinguished posi- 
tion at the bar. 

He continued to discharge the duties of commonwealth attorney until 
tJie year 1839, when he resigned. Seldom has the commonwealth been 
represented with more real ability, perhaps never with more honest inte- 
grity ; he scorned to lend his aid to malignant and vexatious prosecutions, 
and to waste the time of the court in frivolous and unimportant questions. 
He seemed to direct his whole energies to the main and important ques- 
tion, whether the accused was guilty or innocent. If conscientiously con- 



JOIINf II. m'hENRY, of HARTFORD, KENTUCKY. 315 

vineed of innocence, be made no effort to condemn ; if he really believed 
the culprit guilty, bo exerted his whole energies to secure bis punishment. 
In his whole management of the cause, his efforts seemed to be to arrive 
at the truth, the whole truth. His statement of the evidence was always 
fair, candid, and correct ; bis arguments were but fair and legitimate influ- 
ences arising from the evidence ; and as be was never very verbose and 
tedious, but concise, compact, and always to the point, bis concluding 
speech to the jury was always dreaded by the opposing counsel. An old 
lawyer, who bad a distinguished reputation as a criminal advocate, would 
frequently be seen walking behind the bar, anxiously watching the coun- 
tenances of the jury, and has been sometimes heard to exclaim, "d n 

M'Henry's candor, it is playing the d 1 with that jury." 

Although with the intelligent and business part of the community Mr. 
M'Henry has always stood deservedly high, be has never had that great 
jiopular re])utation that some others have enjoyed of far less real merit. 
He is utterly destitute of humbug, and never speaks for buncombe. When 
he has argued the point of law to the court, or arrayed bis evidence and 
his inferences therefrom before the jury, lie conceives that he has done his 
duty ; he does not feel bound to gratify the spleen of bis client by abusing 
his adversary. To gain a cause against the evidence, be cannot conde- 
scend to burl the charge of peijury against an innocent and unoffending 
witness. Possessing himself the highest degree of delicate sensibilitv, and 
the utmost regard for his own reputation and honor, it is seldom that he 
can reconcile it to himself to wound the feelings and attack the character 
of others ; he never does, unless the circumstances clearly justify him in 
doing so. 

Mr. MTIenry's great excellence as a lawyer consists in bis retentive 
memory, by which he takes bold of and retains a long and complicated 
chain of facts and circumstances in a cause, bis presence of mind and cool 
deliberation, clear, discriminating judgment, and thorough knowledge of 
the law. 

He never takes notes, but never forgets the points in the evidence worth 
remembering ; does not become hurried or excited into a misstep ; pru- 
dently stops the examination of a witness as soon as be has stated the fact 
he was called to prove, lest something might be elicited that might be in- 
jurious to his cause ; he is ever ready to detect any defect in the cause of 
his adversary, and take the advantage of it. His authorities are always to 
the point, if he offei's any ; and if one is read by his opponent, and there 
is a shade of difference between it and the question before the court, be is 
ready to draw the distinction and illustrate the difference. He seldom 
rises to speak without showing some degree of diffidence and embarrass- 
ment, which disappears as be progresses ; bis language is chaste, and pro- 
nunciation good, but never fanciful. He seldom digresses from the sub- 
ject, unless to tell an anecdote by way of illustration. His anecdotes are 
well selected, and frequently prove a happy hit. 

There is one point in bis character as a lawyer deserving the highest , 
commendation — his kind indulgence and aid to the junior members of the 
bar. When not opposed to them, be is ever ready to lend them any 
counsel or assistance ; if opposed, be never exposes their weakness, if 
possible to avoid it. He will try out a cause upon its merits with the 
most faulty declaration, rather than expose the ignorance of a young 



316 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

attorney, unless the ti-ue interest of his cHent should require a difterent 
course. 

As a politician, Mr. M'llenry has always been a firm, staunch, consist- 
ent wliig, hut not very fortunate in his j^olitical aspirations. For the first 
time he was a candidate and was elected to the state Legislature in 1840, 
and acquired considerable reputation as a sound, practical legislator, and 
useful business member. In 1841 he became a candidate for Congress; 
his opponent was an active, talented, energetic man, and the late member. 
He seized upon what was called in the district the tobacco hobby. Our 
limits would not ])ermit an explanation of this question, or hobby as it 
was then called and afterwards proved to be. Mr. M'Henry denounced 
it as a hobby at the time, and so did a majority of the intelligent portion 
of the district, but the bait was too flattering and tempting ; it caught 
and cariied away the masses, and Mr. IM'Henry was badly beaten. 

No unkind allusion is here intended to the memory of his successful 
competitor. He was of ardent and sanguine temperament, his tobacco 
project was flattering and deceptive to the mind, and he perhaps believed 
candidl)^ in its practicability. Death has recently removed him from our 
midst, but his memory will long be cherished as a true and noble-hearted 
friend. 

Mr. M'Henry was again the whig candidate, and elected over the demo- 
cratic candidate, a very talented and promising young man, in 1845. He 
is not of that cast of character tliat would at once make a brilliant dehut 
in the hall of Congress, wasting the time, and clogging the wheels of 
legislation with brilliant harangues about matters and things in general, 
and nothing in particular ; but on the contrary, he immediately set about 
acquiring such useful knowledge as could only be learned in his present 
position, and soon began to be looked upon by the old and experienced 
membei'S as a useful and practical member, well versed in the afiairs of 
government, and would, no doubt, in a short time, had he been returned 
to Congress, have taken a very high stand among the few real business 
members. 

He was again a candidate in 1847 ; several other whig candidates also 
announced themselves, and a district convention was finally called to de- 
cide upon the claims of the aspirants. The convention met, but the can- 
didates had been so long on the track, and their friends so excited, that 
much confusion prevailed, and Mr. M'Henry, without consulting his 
friends, arose and withdrew himself from the contest, a course much re- 
gretted liy his friends at the time, as they thought his chances decidedly 
the best, but was probably the most prudent he could have pursued, as 
the result afterwards proved, for the nominee of the convention was finally 
beaten by the democratic candidate. 

He was again a candidate for delegate to the state convention in 1849 ; 
being entirely conservative in his views and opinions upon the subject of 
the new constitution, he met with the most \'iolent opposition. A large 
party were emancipationists — an overwhelming majority were for extend- 
ing the elective franchise to every officer of government. Mr. M'Henry 
contended that the friends of the convention stood pledged by the mani- 
festo which they had published to the people of Kentucky not to disturb 
the relations between master and servant, or the question of slavery in 
any way. He also took a very decided stand against an elective judiciary 



f 



iki 



JOHN II. m'hENRY, of HARTFORD, KENTUCKY. 3] 7 

at least by a direct vote of the people. He met this question boldly and 
firmly, and maintained his position to the end of the contest ; but at the 
solicitation of many of his -warmest fi-iends, who determined to support 
him in any event, he agreed to submit the question of an elective judi- 
ciary to a vote of the people at the polls, and be governed by it in his 
votes and action as a delegate. The result proved that four fifths of the 
people were in favor of it ; and in the convention, yielding his own opi- 
nions, he carried out those of his constituents in good faith. 

Although hundreds, who should have been leaders in the great move- 
ment of reforming the organic law of the state, entertained similar views 
upon the subject of an elective judiciary, scarce a single candidate had 
the moral courage to maintain those views upon the stump. The truth 
is, the whole state of KentTicky, at that time, presented a scene little cre- 
ditable to her leading politicians, and clearly exhibiting the great evils of 
party. Ten years before the question of a convention had been submitted 
to the people, and the vote in its favor did not even amount to a respect- 
able minority ; but the state had long been in possession of the whigs, 
the democrats knew they could lose nothing by agitation, and many 
practical abuses and evils have grown up under the old system of things. 
Many low muttering-s were lv?ard that indicated the coming storm. The 
question was again referred to the people. The captains of hostis general- 
ly took to the fence to watch the result ; the question was carried almost 
by acclamation ; party leaders now came down into the ranks, and each 
party tried to out-Herod Herod. Candidates now mounted the stump, 
not to discuss the true principles and science of government, but to laud 
and demagogue the people ; to advocate and panegyrize what was popu- 
lar, not to expose what was false and deceptive, and to prove what was 
true and immutable. And when we retrospect the events of that period, 
it really seems a matter of astonishment, and cause of gratulation to the 
native good sense of the masses, that so much conservatism and so little 
red-republicanism was engrafted into the new constitution. 

To Mr. M'Henry's credit be it wTitten, that he boldly took his stand 
against some of the most radical and red-republican doctrines of the day. 
He was elected a delegate, and served as Chairman of the Committee of 
Revision — one of the most arduous and laborious positions that could have 
been assigned him in the convention — and discharged his duties with great 
fidelity, until he was prostrated by illness, during the latter part of the 
session. ^ 

Perhaps a greater diversity of opinion exists in relation to Mi. M'Hen- 
ry's social qualities and habits than upon any other point of his charac- 
ter. Whilst his friends and intimate acquaintances represent him as mild, 
pleasant, agi'eeable, plain, and repul)lican in his manners and intercourse ; 
strangers and enemies sometimes represent him as haughty, aristocratic, 
and morose. I will not attempt to decide this controversy, for there are, 
at least, apparent grounds for botli opinions ; but I will give facts, and let 
the reader decide for himself. As was before remarked, he is destitute of 
all humbuggery, and consequently of all flattery. It is also true that he 
generally dresses genteelly, but not gaudily ; and exhibits very good taste 
in his furniture and equipage. When among strangers, or in a crowd, 
he is rather taciturn and unsocial. When enpa^ed in business he devotes 
liis whole attention to it, and does not like to be interrupted, or have aXe- 



318 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMEKICANS. 

iniiul diverted from it, and at such times possesses a considerable degree 
of Abernethean laconicism and acidity of temper. From all these facts 
it might well be inferred that individuals might sometimes leave his com- 
pany with rather unfavorable impressions of his qualities for good com- 
panionship. But when his mind is unstrung from the tension of thought, 
and he is surrounded by a circle of his friends and acquaintances, no man 
more completely unbends himself and indulges in all the pleasures of free 
and social intercourse with all around him, and few who enjoy his society 
while in this mood ever leave him with unfavorable impressions in regard 
to his social qualities. 

From his long practice in an extended region of the Green River 
country, where the simple, plain, backwoods habits of the early settlers 
longest tariied, and where wit, humor, oddity, and awkward simplicity, 
all exhibited themselves in all their native simplicity and richness of zest, 
untrammelled by the conventional forms of more fashionable life, it is quite 
natural to suppose that a man of his shrewd observation and excellent 
memory would acquire a fund of wit and anecdote that would form an 
agreeable and pleasing episode to the usually dull tedium of legal bio- 
graphy, and it was my intention at this point to amuse the reader with 
a few oi M''Henry''s Best, but a copy of a letter from the humerous and 
witty pen of James Weir, Esq., to a city friend, has just come to hand ; 
and as it gives a very graphic sketch of the Green River bar, and a 
description of a laughable adventure in which the subject of our memoir 
was one of the heroes, I will not mar the beauty of the whole by extracts, 
but give his letter entire : — 

''May, 1852. 

" My Dear Dick : — I have as much love and respect for our noble 
profession as any man living, but you know that constant enjoyment, even 
of the best things of life, will in time produce a nausea, and I therefore 
beg, that for the future, in the epistles with which you may favor me, 
you will ' throw physic to the dogs,' or in other words, sink the lawyer, 
and leave professional terms for the courts and law papers. 

" Just think of it, your last letter is so filled up with questions, that 
any one would take it for a string of interrogatories to be appended to 
some ancient bill in Chancery ; and, to tell you the truth, whan I first 
read it, I thought I was on my ' voir dire,' and imagined, for the time, 
I was in the worshipful presence of some learned Dogberry, sworn to 
speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. 

" In the long list of interrogatories sent down by your honor, are the 
following : — ' Who are your great men ? — how do you like the country 
practice ? — and what amusements, if any, do you meet with in your 
rugged journeyings around the circuit?' 

"Now, my dear fellow, if you had not, from your infancy up to your 
present age of maturity (for, I believe, the last time I had the pleasure of 
a squint at your lovely countenance, you wore a moustache), been cooped 
up between the brick and mortar of your humdrum city, I would feel 
disposed to write yon down (may Balam's steed pardon my impertinence) 
an ass — but, as it is, I will only regard you as a desperately green one, 
and never wish you any greater misfortune than to live on your legal 
life — that is, your professional career — just where you are, under Iho 



JOHN H. m'hENRY, of HARTFORD, KENTUCKY. 319 

benignant gaze of your fat alderman, without really knowiug what fun 
is — I mean the fun (if your dignity will allow me the expression) that we 
country barristers enjoy in our professional circuit. 

'' But I can see you now, my jioor fellow, as you sit in your little ten 
by twelve office, surrounded by calf-bound volumes, anxiously awaiting a 
hite : wonderiuiily drawing back your chair, and asking ' how in the 
world do you amuse yourself?' 

" A very natural question, indeed, for a city bred attorney, who never 
swung a fishing rod, shot a gun, or straddled a horse; but, at the same 
time, I warn you never to put this query to another country lawyer, 
unless you want him to think you a most agreeably soft one, and perhaps 
GulUverize you to his heart's content. 

"How amuse ourselves? — Ha! Dick! if you would only leave your 
den, and take a six weeks' tour with me around our circuit, you would 
never ask such a question again — and what is more, never again con- 
demn yourself to cobwebs and a city office — but w-ould ever breathe the 
pure air of our hills and valleys — and after beholding our circuit lawyers, 
and joining once in their fierce conflicts of wit and argument, never more 
doubt, when I tell you, ' that the major part of the great men of our 
nation hail from the country !' There is no dull fixing up and pre]>aring 
for argument by our country lawyers, for, with them, 'tis ride all day, 
frolic at night, and fierce mental struggles in court between-times. Since 
employed, as they frequently are, after the cause is called for trial, they 
have no time for preparation ; and no wonder our country practitioners 
are always ready for argument, fancy, eloquence, wit, sarcasm, or retort, 
and when they become politicians are fully prepared for any and every 
emergency ! 

" Our circuit, as you know, embraces the counties of Daviess, Hancock, 
Breckenridge, Ohio, Muhlenburg, Hopkins, and Henderson ; and, strange 
as it may appear to you, who think nothing good can come out uf Na- 
zareth (that is, exist out of a city), I can name now more eloquent men, 
and eminent lawyers, who practise in these courts, than can be found in 
any two cities in the Union; for instance (and I will only name those 
who have passed the meridian of life, and are broadly known throughout 
the country, since the younger barristers are legion), our present Judge 
Rinchelor, our late Judge Calhoun, M'Henry, Dixon, Rumsey, Powell, 
Hopkins, Triplett, Harder, Peyton, Hise, M'Larning, Bristow, Grey, Ew- 
ing, &c., and I might continue my enumeration almost ' ad infinitum^ 
were I disposed, and did I not think you would grow weary at my long 
list of great counsellors all hailing from that same Nazareth, that you 

wise men of parchment, in the good city of L , feign so heartily to 

despise. 

" But, once more, I hear you grumblingly exclaim, ' what are your 
amusements ?' and, as I started out to gfive you a sketch of our country 
practice, then here goes, my good fellow, and as you are fixed in your 
present location, may you never sigh for the freedom and stirring life 
enjoyed by your humble servant and his country brethren. 

"'Tis true we have no theatre, oyster cellar, shows, &c., to which we 
may resort, like our city friends, when in search of amusement ; but then, 
as we have only two circuits a year, we have what you city lawyers can 
never call your own, a plenty of spare time to devote either to hunting. 



320 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

fishing, riding, or reading, or in a still better manner, to our -wives 
children, and friends ; and another very great advantage we hold over our 
city brethren is, that we are not compelled like them to be for ever in our 
offices, for fear some unlucky devil may wish to take a legal bite (some- 
thing like the adder's file to many of them), and we not be on hand to 
furnish the hook. 

" And then, my dear Dick, if you could only see us, on some fine 
spring morning or frosty day in fall, mounted upon our dashing steeds 
(for you know we have the pick of the circuit, and country lawyers are 
proverbially great horse jockeys), wending our way, with laugh, and 
song, and anecdote, from court to court ; or, in the middle of the day, 
lolling around some noted spring by the way, enjoying our cigars and 
(tell it not in Gath) brandy, with a cold snack from our well filled sad- 
dle-bags, you would never again roll over a dusty turnpike, behind one 
of your fast trotters, or sit down with any degree of grace to a foi-mal 
dinner at your hotel. And then again, when, after a long day's ride, we 
stop at some of our country friends by night, what an excitement do we 
create among the whites and blacks, not forgetting the hen-roost, and 
with what glorious nonchalance do we tumble in, two or three together 
when beds are scarce, and if not disposed to merriment or conversation, 
sink forthwith into a real country sleep, undisturbed byfirebell or roll of 
hack and omnibus ! 

" Ah ! Dick ! You will never know what a comfortable sleep is — unless 
you come down and take with me a trip on horseback around the cir- 
cuit. But when we arrive at the county town where we are to remain 
for the week (and condemn or acquit jascals as the case may be), and 
find already gathered there, our legal brethren from the counties around 
— and settle with ' mine host of the inn ' and his sable hostler, as to 
where man and beast must, as the saying is, ' tabernacle ' during our 
short sojourn — then I say, comes the ' tug of war,' and the different 
corps or cliques open their batteries at once, and it is, wit — song — anec- 
dote, and flashing repartee, for the remainder of the term, when outside 
the sacred precincts of the court room — and we enjoy what was never 
' dreamed of in the philosophy of your city lawyers,' who never meet 
except in crowded courts, and never do battle, save over some dry point 
of law ! 

" To give you an idea, Dick, of one of our night parties at a village 
tavern, in term time, I cannot do better than relate to you a celebrated 
conflict which took place some years ago, between the Hon. John H. 
M'Henry, and quite a famous and witty gentleman by the name of 
S from the town of E — ; — . 

" M'Henry, you must know, is one of the best lawyers of our circuit, 
and was for many years our commonwealth attorney, and has been our 
representative in Congress, and is Avithal a man of great humor, and ex- 
celled but by few in the social circle ; and in addition to all these excel- 
lences, has a natural but comical way of shutting one eye, when speak- 
ing or in conversation, which is very laugh-inviting, especially when he 
is relating one of his many ludicrous anecdotes — and for this, and 
many other reasons, he is quite a favorite with the fun-loving portion of 
our profession. 

" But that you may fully understand the nature and cause of the bat- 



JOHN H. m'hENRY, of HARTFORD, KENTUCKY. 321 

tie 1 am now about to relate, it will be necessary for me to say, that 
there lias ever been a rivalry between the lawyers north and south of 
Green river in our circuit — and before the wager and contest I will 
now describe, it was a mooted and vexed question with the bar, which 
side could tell the best anecdote, and sing the best song ! 

" At last, Mr. S from E , came down to the court at G , 

and being a very witty man, full of anecdote and song, he for a day or 
so carried all before him, totally eclipsing our side of the river, and, 
much crest-fallen, we were about to submit, and give up the field, when 
John Calhoun, our late judge, then a practising lawyer, considering that 

it would never do to give it up so, boldly challenged Mr. S and his 

party, to a regular ' set to ' at anecdote and song, backing his chal- 
lenge with a wager, promising to produce a man from our side, that 
could and would tell more and better anecdotes and sing better songs 
than Mr. S , or ai\y of his party ! 

"This challenge accepted — the Hon. John H. M'Henry was chosen as 
champion by the judge, and readily assented to do battle, as a good and 
true knight, for the honor of our name — provided (for he was a little 
given to practical jokes, and may be was a little fearful of the rencounter) 
that the judge and our party would faithfully promise to laugh at and 
applaud all of his stories, good or bad, and admire his songs ; and as 
faithfully promise, never to laugh at, if it could be helped, any of S — 's 
anecdotes — or if this could not be done, then always to laugh or applaud 
in the wrong place. This plot fully arranged and agreed upon, imagine 
a little room in the upper story of the hotel, with a table comfortably set 
out, covered with drinkables, M'Henry and his party at one end, and 
Mr. S — with his backers at the other — and you will have in your mind's 
eye the scene of conflict, with the contending parties duly arranged and 
drawn out for battle. 

" Calhoun, one of the handsomest men of his age in the country, and ex- 
celled by very few in eloquence and legal information, has the remark- 
able faculty or power, of presenting with one side of his face all the gra- 
vity of a judge, whilst with the other he is at the same moment laughing 
heartily. And now that the battle was about to commence, true to his 
compact with M'Henry, he sat in the midst of his company, with the 
grave side of his countenance always presented to the enemy, and his 
laughing phiz smiling upon his friends to encourage them to victory. 

" M'Henry opened the conflict by telling, and in an inimitable way, one 
of his best stories, which was followed of course by shouts of laughter, 
from not only our party, but from the enemy, who had no idea of the 
plot on hand to destroy the brilliancy of their own champion. S — 
finding that he had a foe worthy of his steel, followed with an equally 
good story, told in elegant style, but our party, taking their cue from the 
grave visage of the judge turned warningly upon them, to a great extent 
smothered their merriment, while S — 's party, who had heard his story 
before, and who were, to tell the truth, no little astonished at our general 
gravity, did not receive it in a manner it deserved. 

" S — 's opening gun was pronounced a failure. 

" With renewed spirits at the evident discomfiture of the enemy, 

^I'Henry told a still more laughable story, and did it with increased 

power and efi'ect ; for by this time our party, amused at the ruse thej 

^1 



322 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

were playing off on poor S — , were ready to laugh at any and everything, 
while S — 's party, who were fighting fair, showed their evident satisfac- 
tion by loud bursts of merriment. Nerving himself for the trial S — 
told his next story with such brilliancy and force, as even to have some 
effect upon the imperturbable judge, for the laughing side of his face 
moved with visible agitation ; and many of his party, unable to suppress 
their mirth in spite of themselves, could but give vent to their laughter, 
and re-echo the applause of their foe. 

" With a few more ' bouts' S — finding himself always worsted, volun- 
teered a comic song, which was received with hecoming and touching 
solemnity by the judge and his party, and M'Henry, taking his cue 
from the sad countenances of the enemy, meeting this attempted comedy 
of S — with a pathetic little air (which almost brought tears into the 
eyes of the foe, and the effect of which his own friends came very near 
destroying by their suppressed laughter) once more was proclaimed 
victor. 

"After this, although S — told many of his best stories, there was a 
very visible falling off in the applause of the company, for his own party 
became dispirited, and ours, if they laughed at all, did so when there was 
no occasion, or in a very feeble manner ; and thus it went on, M'Henry 
improving with every glass that went round the board, and S — con- 
stantly sinking, until at last he suddenly gave up the contest, and with 
his party totally routed and discomfited, ingloriously left the field. 

" Poor S ! — He never again set himself up for a wit ; this signal defeat 
was more than he could beai-. 

" The judge won his wager ; thanks be to the skill of M'Henry, the 
solemn side of his own countenance, and the praiseworthy perseverance 
with which his party stuck to their pledge of gravity. 

" From this celebrated night, we have claimed and held supremacy over 
our Southern brothers, and they have never from that day to present 
time, offered to have another rencounter of wit, and I am disposed to think, 
never will, as long as we have M'Henry to hold ' in terrorem^ over 
them. 

" Pardon this long and disjointed epistle, dear Dick, and though not 
born of the same parents, and therefore not legally related — still I will 
remain as ever, 

" Your legal brother, 

"James Weir." 

Mr. M'Henry is equally felicitous at reply and retort, or what might be 
called " wit in a pinch." 1 will give a single example. During the 
celebrated contest between the old and new court parties in Kentucky, the 
copy of a contract entered into between one of the then judges of the 
new court and a certain widowed lady, was published, and went the rounds 
of the press ; in this contract the memorable words were used, " In the 
payment of which sum the said Haggin is not to be hastened." This 
expression was seized upon by the old court party, and became a by- 
word. Mr. M'Henry (who, at least, is not so sharp at a horse trade as his 
friend Weir represents a Green River lawyer generally to be), had traded 
for a horse of the most villanous equanimity of temper ever known ; in 



JOHN H. m'hENRV, of HARTFORD, KENTUCKY. o'2j 

fact he bore persecution with a degree of fortitude and n'signation that 
would liave entitled any mortal to a place in the calendar of saints ; he 
withstood the vigorous application of whip, spur, and what is mitch more 
common with a Green River Lawyer, black hickory, with a lirm resolu- 
tion to gang his ain gait, despite of all these appliances, until his owner 
gave up the contest, and settled down to the conclusion that if he w'as not 
the veritable, he was at least like t/ie sail Haggin, and not to be hastened, 
and the horse became known all around the circuit by the name of the 
said Huggin. One day while a jovial band of lawyers were travelling the 
circuit in company together, Mr. R., a verj' warm and decided new court 
man, tell in with them ; it was not long until the name of the horse was 
alluded to. Mr. R., with an air of offended dignity, and. a voice that 
would seem to indicate a readiness to call for " pistols and coffee for two," 
inquired, " Sir, do you intend the name of your horse as a reflection upon 
the new court V To Avhich M'Henry replied with au air of naivete 
and simplicity that cannot be described, " Oh ! by no means, sir ; / only 
intend it as a rejiection upon my horsed This reply was pei'fectly irre- 
sistible, and the Avoods along the roadside rang with shouts of laughter, 
in which the dignified Mr. R. was himself compelled to join, and even the 
said Haggin might have been induced to enliven his speed had he not 
been a horse of imperturbable dulness. 

Mr. M'Henry is fully as benevolent and charitable as any prudent man 
should be. He is ever most liberal and kind to real "objects of charity, 
and none more ready to assist the sick and afflicted. Ever ready to lend 
aid and assistance to those who are industrious and enterprising, but are 
deficient in means ; and none contributes more freely to works of public 
utility. 

As a parent and master he is kind and indulgent to a fault, but it is to 
be hoped that he will never have cause to regret his parental kindness. 
He is now surrounded with a family of interesting children, who seem not 
disposed to take advantage of his parental indulgences, but to j)roperly 
appreciate it, in striving to imitate the good example set them, and who 
bid fair to become useful and respectable members of society, and to aid 
in the perpetuation of those blessings resulting from those glorious insti- 
tutions, in the erecting and securing of which their ancestors have acted 
no inconsiderable part. 



I 



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EBWAMID SIMO)]?^ 



OF SAINT ACAHl'llsrSVZuME. ZOUISIAN^. 



Eymrai/e^-fhr£LoorapkuidlSlcsti:h££ of EmuLeni>..dm£ri.ams . 



EDWARD SIMON, 

OF SAINT MARTINSVILLE, LOUISIANA, 

Was born on the 26tli of May, 1Y99, in the town of Tournay, province 
of Haynaut, Belgium. At that time his native country was a part of the 
then French RepubHc, and his birth-place was included within the limits 
of the department of Jemappes, well known by the victory which the 
French Republican army obtained over the Austrians on the Vth of 
November, 1792. The field of Fontenoy, celebrated by the great battle 
of the 11th of May, 1*745, is within a few miles of his birth-place. 

He was the eldest son of Edward Simon and Harriet Walnier, descend- 
ants of old and respectable Belgian families ; his parents were not 
wealthy, but had suflicient means, with their own industry, to enable 
them to raise their family honorably, and to give to their children a liberal 
education. At the age of eight years, after a preparatory and elementary 
education received at home, as is usual in that country, he was sent to 
one of our best and ancient colleges, called the St. Paul College, 
formerly a bi'anch of the well known University of Louvain, and 
remained there until he had attained his sixteenth year. He was 
successful in his studies, and we may say that during the eight years of 
his college education he was always at the head of his class, and spoken 
of as one of the best students in the institution. He was more advanced 
than his age would show, and after having completed his classical edu- 
cation, his parents, considering him as a fit subject for the legal profes- 
sion, sent him to Brussels to study the civil law, which at that time was, 
and still is, the law of the land. This was in 1815, shortly before the 
battle of Waterloo. Full of life and energy, full of ambition, he then 
determined to endeavor to become prominent in the careei- to which he 
thought he was destined, and commenced his legal studies with that zeal 
and intended perseverance that is said to be one of the national character- 
istics of the Belgians ; he thought, also, that a new era was about 
to commence for his country, and that Belgium was in a fair way to 
recover her ancient privileges and liberties. He was mistaken : and 
young as he was he soon judged otherwise. Belgium was annexed to 
Holland, and he became convinced that his poor countrymen had only 
changed their yoke (it was shaken off" in 1830), and that the last one 
should bear more heavily upon them than it had done under the French 
Imperial Government. So it was. One of the first attempts of the new 
order of things against their liberties was to require the law students to 
learn the Dutch, so as to make this language the language of the bar, and 
one of the requirements for the bench and for admission to the bar was a 
thorough knowledge and full practice of a foreign tongue ! — of a tongue 
imposed upon them by a tyrannical power, by the rulers of a state less 
populous than theirs ! This he, for one, could not submit to, and he 
changed his views. 

Disgusted with the new order of things, and considering that his pro- 
fessional prospects were all baffled, he turned his eyes towards the tlni- 
ted States of America, whose institutions and form of government he 



326 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

had occasion to admire in the course of his historical studies ; he con- 
tinued, however, to study law for two years longer, in compliance with 
the wishes of his parents, but in the meantime, undertook to learn the 
English language, in order to prepare himself for the execution of the 
plan he had formed for his future career and welfare. 

In the spring of 1817, sufBciently conversant, as he thought, in the 
English language, he prevailed on his parents to permit his emigrating 
to the United States. They consented, though reluctantly, to the propo- 
sition, and procured him the means of carrying his plan into effect. 
lie first went to London, where he had several friends, and after a sojourn 
of a few weeks, having obtained a few letters of introduction to various 
persons in America, he took passage on board of an American vessel, 
and alone in the world, at the age of a little upwards of eighteen, un- 
known and without friends, he landed at Baltimore on the third day of 
September, 1817. 

He had abandoned all ideas of becoming a lawyer, and thinking it 
would be more advantageous to his purposes to embark in commercial 
pursuits, the first object of his endeavors in Baltimore and in other 
northern cities, was to obtain employment as clerk in a commercial house. 
In this he did not succeed, notwithstanding he had made himself known 
advantageously ; and not knowing what to do, a stranger on a foreign 
soil, he was about trying to get employment as a teacher of French and 
of ancient languages in an Academy, when he accidentally met with an 
old and very respectable French gentleman who treated him with friend- 
ship, and who, recollecting that in his travels through Belgium in for- 
mer times, he had become acquainted with several members of his 
family, took him under his protection, and became his second father. 
His name was Peter Regnier ; he was a cotton planter in that part of 
Louisiana called Attakapas^ and being on the eve of returning home 
he took him to New Orleans. This was clearly a decree of Providence ! 

He lived one year with his protector, on his plantation in the parish 
of St. Mary's, and had occasion to become acquainted with several 
respectable American and Creole famiHes ; but his old friend had the 
misfortune of losing his only daughter and child, and at the end of the 
year, he determined to sell the plantation and to return to Europe, after 
an absence of nearly thirty years. He oflered to take Mr. S. along with 
him to Belgium, but he refused, and before leaving Louisiana, his last 
service to our subject was to procure him employment in a mercantile 
establishment in St. Martinsville. 

Six months afterwards (in August, 1819), he became the owner of 
the store in which he was employed as clerk, in partnership with his 
employer's brother-in-law. He then thought that his prospects were 
such as, with industry and perseverance, might enable him to reach 
the object he had in view when first he landed in Baltimore, but he soon 
found he was mistaken ; it Avas not his proper occupation, and he soon 
became conscious he was not born for commercial pursuits. 

In the spring of 1820 two young gentlemen of the New Orleans bar 
settling in St. Martinsville, with a view of opening an office there, and 
of practising their profession in partnership, he became acquainted with 
them. One of these gentlemen was Felix Grima, Esq., subsequently 
judge of the criminal court of New Orleans, and the other was J, 



EDWARD SIMON, OF SAIXT MARTINSVILLE, LA. 327 

Robin, Esq.y afterwards judge of the parish of Pointe Coupee. They 
soon were his intimate friends. Having- had occasion to open their 
library and to examine their law books, he found among them, to his 
astonishment, several of his old acquaintances of the law school, such as 
Justinian, Domat, Pothier, etc.; he was not aware that the state of 
Louisiana was the only state in tlie Union governed by tlie civil law ; 
and on his informino- Jndo'e Grima that he was once intended for the 
legal profession, and had studied the same system of laws for two years, 
he was strongly luged to abandon mercantile operations, and resume his 
studies, and given to understand that one year more would be sufficient 
to acquire the necessary qualifications for admission to the bar. He fol- 
lowed this advice ; Judge G. promised to guide his endeavors, and 
shortly after, having succeeded in winding up his commercial business, 
he devoted himself, day and night, to the study of the system of laws 
then in force in Louisiana, under the guidance of his friend, who had 
returned to New Orleans, but who never ceased to give, by his kind and 
friendly correspondence, the information wanted to foster his plan and 
attain his object. 

The qualifications of a good Louisiana lawyer were at that time mani- 
fold : he had to acquire a certain knowledge of the Spanish language, 
so as to be enabled to read and understand the old Spanish laws, then 
yet in force, and their commentators ; the French and English languages 
were then equally spoken both in the legislative council and at the bar; 
a complicated system of laws having its origin in difterent sources, and 
the jurisprudence of the state, as established by the decisions of its 
supreme tribunal, being then very imperfect and quite limited, the read- 
ing of a large number of law books, written in those three difterent 
languages, was indispensable ; and it necessarily required a much longer 
time to go through a regular course of legal studies in Louisiana than 
in any other state in the L^nion. Dismayed by no difficulty, animated 
by determined purpose, and more and more fond of the noble profession 
his beloved parents had wished him to adopt, he made great proficiency 
in legal studies, and in December, 1821, after a successful and satisfac- 
tory public examination in the presence of the most distinguished mem- 
bers of the bar, such as Edivard Livingston, Etienne Mazureau, Judge 
Workman, and others, who complimented him on his legal acquirements, 
he received his license from the Honorable George Matthcivs, Francis J{. 
Martin, and Alexander Porter, three of the most eminent jurists in the 
United States, and then occupying the high, distinguished, and honor- 
able station of Judges of the Supreme Court of Louisiana. 

Soon after his admission to the bar he returned to St. Martinsville, 
where he opened an office, and immediately commenced the practice of 
his profession, under the most favorable auspices. Well known all over 
the district (the Judicial District over which he extended his practice was 
composed of four parishes,) from intercourse with the people,* whilst in 
mercantile business, and possessing the advantage and facility of address- 
ing the juries in either of the two languages spoken in the country, he 
soon acquired a certain reputation, and numerous clients intrusted their 
business to his efforts. He continued to devote his leisure hours to legal 
studies. He was successful in his first causes, which were mostly jury 
cases, and several of which, being important criminal prosecutions, seemed 



328 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

to have created a certain interest in the community ; and generally op- 
posed in his judicial combats to his friend John Broiunson^ Esq., one of 
the most eminent and learned advocates in this state. His standing at 
the bar became such as to secure not only the honors of high repute in 
his professional career, but also a profitable practice for the future. The 
reports of the decisions of the Supreme Court of Louisiana from the first 
volume of Martin's Reports, new series, to the thirteenth volume of the 
Louisiana Reports, show the extent of that practice in civil cases for the 
space of eighteen years ; and we may add that he was generally em- 
ployed to defend the criminal cases that arose in the districts, and among 
them many an important case, Avith remarkable success. 

In 1823, he took his beloved companion in life from one of the most 
respectable and ancient families in the state. His family is now com- 
posed of seven children, two of whom are married, and his eldest son, 
who for three years was a law student in Harvard University at Cam- 
bridge, is now fulfilling honorably and successfully the duties of State 
District Attorney, in the same District where, thirty years before, he had 
commenced the exercise of a noble profession. 

In 1839, in a visit made to the north, Mr. S. had the honor to become 
acquainted with Chancellor Kent, aviA with ixxdge, Joseph Story, to whom 
he was introduced by letters from his friends Judges Martin, and H. A. 
Bullard, of the Supreme Courts. Having been introduced to them as a 
good Civilian, he had the pleasure to converse with those two eminent 
jurists on divers civil law subjects, which appeared to give them a cer- 
tain degree of satisfaction very gratifying to professional feelings. 

In February, 1840, he received his commission as one of the judges of 
the Supreme Court, of this state, the appointment having been unani- 
mously confirmed by the Senate. Judges Martin and Bullard were 
among his colleagues ; their friendly feelings towards him never changed, 
and they labored together in the heavy toils of their high and respon- 
sible office, until March, 1846, when they were all superseded by new 
apjiointmenls, made under a new constitution. It is well known that, 
although they never interfered in any political struggles, their political 
opinions were the sole cause, we should not say of their removals, but 
of their not having been reappointed. 

As to the manner in which he has fulfilled the duties of his office, we 
can say : as a public servant, he labored hard, and the reports of the 
decisions of the Louisiana Supreme Court, whilst he was on the bench, 
consisting of eighteen volumes in six years (from 14<A Louis. Rep., to 12 
Robinson inclusively), show sufficiently the extent and nature of the 
services rendered to liis adopted state. 

After leaving the bench, Mr. Simon retired to the quiet life of a citizen ; 
he established a large sugar plantation in Attakapas, which is now his 
principal occupation ; and if occasionally he undertakes to defend im- 
portant civil cases, and appears as counsel in courts of justice, it is 
because he still loves a profession to which he owes his prosperity, his 
happiness in life, and the standing and welfare of his family. 




Qy'/i^/u.,.w 





1H ^/t'-i 



HENRY WYLES CUSHMAN, 

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS, 

Was born in Bernardston, Franklin county, Massachusetts, August 
9th, 1805. He is a descendant of the eighth generation, in a direct 
line, from Robert Cushman, one of the Puritans who came to Plymouth, 
Massacliusetts, in 1621, and who delivered the first sermon that was 
printed in the United States, and of whom Gov. Bradford remarked, 
" Mr. Cushman was our right hand with the adventurers, and for 
divers years managed all our business with them to our great advan- 
tage." His father is the Hon. Polycarpus L. Cushman, a highly 
respectable citizen of Bernardston ; and his mother, whose name 
(Wyles) in part he bears, was from Colchester, Connecticut. His 
genealogy from the first of the name who settled in America, is as 
follows, liz. : Robert Cushman, the Puritan ; Elder Thomas Cush- 
man ; Rev. Isaac Cushman ; Lieut. Isaac Cushman ; Capt. Nathaniel 
Cushman ; Dr. Polycarpus Cushman ; Hon. Polycarpus Loring Cush- 
man ; Hensiy Wyles Cushman. 

His maternal ancestor was Mary Allerton, who came over in the 
" Mayflower," in 1620, the daughter of Isaac Allerton, one of the 
most prominent and useful in that band of worthies who, for the sake 
of enjoying religious liberty, made the first settlement in New- 
England, at Plymouth. Mr. C. is therefore of " full-blooded Puritan 
stock," his paternal and maternal ancestors having both been mem- 
bers of the Rev. John Robinson's churcl*, at Leyden, in Holland. We 
think he may v^ell be proud of this descent ; for most of the stern, 
radical republicanism and pure Christianity that has so highly distin- 
guished the people of the United States has proceeded from that 
source. And in coming ages men will value and esteem such ances- 
tors more than a descent from " royal blood." 

" But by your father's worth if yours you rate. 
Count me those only who were good and great." 

The Cushmans in the United States have all descended from 
Robert Cushman and Isaac Allerton, the Puritans, and now number 
over one thousand ; and they have ever been distinguished for their 
love of political and religious liberty, which was such a prominent 
element in the character of their forefathers. The sequel will show, 
we think, that the subject of this brief memoir has not fallen from the 
sterling integrity, sound republicanism, and undefiled Christianity of 
his ancestors. 

The subject of this sketch received his education, principally, in the 
common school, and at Deerfield and New-Salem academies, in his 
native county. At the age of eighteen he entered Capt. Partridge's 
•' American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy," at Norwich, 
Vt., and there pursued his studies about two years. From the same 
institution, continued under the name of the " Norwich University," he 



330 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

received, in 1827, the honorary degree of "Master of Arts." Afier 
leaving Norwich he was engaged for two or three years in teaching 
school in winter, acquiring the reputation of a successful and popular 
teacher, and in laboring on his father's farm in summer. In June, 
1828, he was married to Maria Louisa Dickman, a daughter of the 
late Thomas Dickman, Esq., of Springfield, of whom it was inscribed 
on his tomb-stone, " He was the first printer, the first bookseller, and 
the first postmaster of Greenfield, Mass." 

In 1837 Mr. Cushman first took his seat in the house of represen- 
tatives of Massachusetts, as a member from Bernardston, and lie was 
re-elected to the same place in the years 1839, 1840, 1843 and 1844. 

In 1 84 1 he was one of the democratic candidates for the state senate 
from Franklin county, and was re-nominated in 1843 and 1844, 
The county being strongly whig, he was not, of course, elected. But, 
in 1844, a vacancy in the senate having occurred by the d:;cea3e of 
Hon. William Whittaker, Mr. Cushman was chosen by the legislature 
to fill that vacancy. A singular combination of circumstances at that 
time occurred. Mr. Cushman and his father were members of the 
same senate, from the same county, and from the same town ; were 
connected in business ; lived near each other, and were intinlate in 
their social relations (Mr. C. being an only child), but differing in poli- 
tics ; the father representing the whig, and the son tlie democratic 
party. Strangers who visited the senate that year often inquired for 
the father and son who represented the same county, hue were of oppo- 
site politics, and the circumstance was extensively noticed in the 
newspapers at the time. 

As a debater in the legislature, Mr. C. was never very prominent. 
But when he did address the members, his good common sense and 
sound judgment always secured him an attentive hearing. He never 
spoke unless he had some facts or arguments to communicate that had 
a direct bearing upon the question under consideration. His remarks 
in the House of Representatives, in 1840, on the subject of amending 
the constitution, which were published in the Boston Post and other 
papers, are a fair specimen of his style of speaking and reasoning. 

We give an extract from his remarks on that occasion, which shows 
something of his abilities as a public speaker : 

" This article of amendment, Mr. Speaker, contains four distinct 
propositions, on each of which I propose to make a few remarks — 
and, as the whole question was discussed by the last legislature, and 
has been so long before the people and this legislature, I assure the 
house I shall not trouble it with a ' long talk' upon the subject. 

" The fir.st proposition relates to the senate, and, if adopted, will 
change the basis of the senate from a property or valuation basis, to 
one purely of population. 

" Tlie second section of the first chapter of the constitution of 
Massachusetts provides, that ' the general court, in assigning the num- 
bers (of the senate) to be selected by the people by the respective 
districts, shall govern themselves by the proportion of public taxes paid 
by said districts.' 

" The proposed amendment bases the senate on population as fol- 
lows : — ' The senate shall consist of forty members, and in the year 



HENRY WYLES CUSHMAN, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 331 

1840, and every ten years thereafter, the governor and council shall 
assign the number of senators to be chosen by each district, according 
to the number of inhabitants in the same.'' 

" A radical and highly important change in the manner of deter- 
mining the number of senators to which each district shall be entitled, 
is thus proposed. Such a change I believe, sir, is highly desirable 
and correct in principle, and for the following reasons : 

" First. The property basis of the senate is contrary to the first princi- 
ples of our government. From the time when the first ' compact' was 
entered into by our pilgrim fathers on board the Mayflower, in the 
harbor of old Plymouth, in the year 1620, to this day, the great princi- 
ple that has been contended for by the friends of the people is, that 
ours is a government of men, and not of property ; and that politically 
considered, one man has the same rights and privileges — the same 
political power as another man. Hence we find in the first article of 
the declaration of rights of our constitution, that axiom in politics that 
' all men are born free and equal.^ Not equal in mind, not equal in 
moral or physical power, but having equal political rights and privi- 
leges. Such is the theory of our government. But, in practice, how 
does the property basis of the senate correspond with it ? It contra- 
dicts it most directly. The constitution, therefore, virtually asserts in 
one place what it denies in another. 

" Again, by the ninth article of the bill of rights, it is provided, that 
' all the inhabitants of the commonwealth, having such qualifications 
as they shall establish by their frame of government, have an equal 
right to elect officers^ Now, compare this with the property basis of the 
senate. Wealth, money, goods, wares and merchandise, lands and 
tenements, are there represented — not men, not the people. If it was 
the labor of the people, or the income of wealth, it would be somewhat 
different. But it is wealth itself that constitutes the senate. Is that 
consistent with the principle of a democratic republic ? I think not, 
sir. 

" The senate of Massachusetts has often been called the aristo- 
cratic branch ; and has it not been called so with propriety, when we 
consider that the nmnber of senators is determined by the number of 
dollars which each district possesses ? A more anti-democratic basis 
can hardly be conceived of ; one more contrary to the theory of our 
government, and the provisions of the Bill of Rights. 

" Second, I further objected to the property basis of the senate, be- 
cause, in its practical operation, it is unjust and unequal. 

******** 

" The two counties which sufter most by the property basis of the 
senate are Barnstable and Franklin. Each of these counties have, 
about 30,000 inhabitants, and but one senator each. And why must 
the people of those counties thus sufier ? Are they not as worthy ? 
Have they not the i-ight to be as fully represented at the senate board 
as the people of .Suffolk or Nantucket ? 

" For Franklin county, which I have the honor to represent in part, 
on this floor, I can speak, sir. The people of no part of the common- 
wealth are more honest, intelligent, more fully and essentially demo- 
cratic, than they are m ' little Franklin,' as she has diminutively been 



332 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

called. Yes, sir, the people of that county ' know their rights, and 
knowing, dare maintain them' — and I presume the people of Barnsta- 
ble are not less so. A more rational, just, equitable and democratic 
representation of the several counties, in the senate, is, therefore, 
highly desirable. 

" But let us take another comparative view of the representation in 
the senate. If thirteen thousand persons in Boston are entitled to a 
senator, then a single voter has more than double the political power in 
electing senators, in that county, than a voter has in Barnstable or 
Franklin. By changing his residence from one county to another, a 
voter may increase his political power in electing senators more than 
one half ; or may diminish it in the same proportion. 

" Again, a single individual, in Boston or Nantucket, who is worth 
a million of dollars, exercises in fact as much power in constituting 
the senate as one thousand independent farmers, worth one thousand 
dollars each, in other counties ! Is that equal ? 

" But suppose a very wealthy individual, John Jacob Astor, for 
instance, should move into Barnstable, Nantucket or Franklin, with 
twenty millions of dollars or more, he woidd give to the county four 
senators, in addition to what they now have ; — each senator being the 
representative of about five millions of property ? Is such a basis for 
one branch of our legislature agreeable to the principles of our govern- 
ment, and in accordance with the provisions of our bill of rights ? 
It seems to me not, sir. Adopt a population basis, and no such 
inequality exists." 

While a member of the legislature he was frequently appointed 
chairman of important committees ; and we are informed that he never 
reported a bill that was not passed. In 1837 he made an interesting 
report in favor of a further geological survey of the commonwealth ; 
from which we subjoin a short extract : 

" It has ever been the policy of the government of this common- 
wealth to encourage, in all suitable ways, a development of the 
resources of our prosperity, which nature, with an unsparing hand, has 
scattered over the state. The soil and the mine, as well as the more 
scientific branches of investigation, have each received attention of a 
truly liberal, yet wise administration of our government. It was in 
that spirit that appropriations have been made, from time to time, for 
a topographical survey of the commonwealth. In the same liberal 
spirit, also, which desires ' the greatest good of the greatest number,' 
have appropriations been made from our treasury, for an examination, 
scientific and practical, of the geology and mineralogy of the territory 
of our state. 

" In this respect Massachusetts has the honor to take the lead ; and 
your committee rejoice to know that several of her sister states are 
following her example. The neighboring states of New-York, Con- 
necticut and Maine, foreseeing the benefits which must unavoidably 
result to their citizens, both in a scientific and practical point of view, 
have each commenced a thorough examination of the geology and 
natural history of their respective territories. Hence we observe the 
favorable influence, which, besides a vast practical benefit to our citi- 
zens, has resulted from the steps which have been taken by this state, 



HENRY WYLES CUSHMAN, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 333 

for an examination of the geological and mineralogical resources of our 
territory. 

" Your committee are decidedly of the opinion, that the advantages 
of a further geological survey of the commonwealth will be numerous 
and great to all classes of our citizens ; and further, that a small 
appropriation in that way, might, and probably would be acceptable to 
the great body of the people ; and for the following reasons : 

" 1st. In an agricultural point of view. In the previous survey, no 
attention, or but little, was paid to an examination of the various sods 
abounding in ditferent parts of the state. Now, it is an incontrovertible 
fact, that without a knowledge of the constituent qualities of the soil, 
the practical farmer has not all the information he ought to possess in 
order to render his business most successful. Different soils require 
different management and different manures. Take, for instance, the 
single circumstance of the use of gypsum or plaster of paris on land. 
It is well known by practical agriculturists, that on some soils it will 
produce a most astonishing effect, doubling, and, in some cases, 
quadrupling the product ; while on other soils, not the least effect is 
discoverable. Now, had that question been settled by scientific 
analysis and experiment, what a saving of time and expenditure would 
have been caused ! 

2d. " It is said, also, that there are strong indications of marl to be 
found in the valley of the Connecticut, and in other parts of the state ; 
and it is the opinion of many eminent agriculturists, that the applica- 
tion of it to certain kinds of land will produce a most astonishing and 
powerful result — so much so, that it would be profitable to freight it 
many miles for that purpose. But the fact of its existence, its peculiar 
location, or its fertilizing powers, will, probably, never be ascertained, 
unless by the direction and patronage of the government. 

" 3d. The progressive advancement of the science of geology is 
another reason why further research should be made. Every year 
brings to light new facts illustrating the economical and scientific 
geology of the country. As more is learned from time to time, the 
means and ability to learn are proportionably increased. The science 
of geolog\' partakes of the characteristic ' go-ahead' spirit of the times. 
As an instance of this, the discovery, quite recently, of the foot-marks 
of birds, of different species, imbedded deeply in the rock, in the valley 
of the Connecticut, is most remarkable. Other classes of geological 
phenomena have also been brought to notice, which urgently require 
further examination." 

In 1839, he made a report on the subject of property exempt from 
attachment, and introduced and ad^'ocated an order in favor of the 
exemption from the trustee process, of the last month's wages of work- 
ing-men, women and children. In 1840, he was chairman of the com- 
mittee on the subject of an amendment of the constitution, and made 
an able report on that question. He was also, the same year, chair- 
man of the standing committee of the house on agriculture, a subject 
in which he has always taken a lively interest. In 1843, he was a 
member of the committee on probate and chancery ; also, an important 
member of the famous committee of that year on " retrenchment," from 
which committee he reported a bill reducing the compensation of sher- 



334 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

iffs, &c. In 1844, he was a member of the committee on " educa- 
tion," also of the committee on "finance." In the senate, the same 
year, he made an elaborate report on the subject of the executive 
appointments of Gov. Morton the previous year, defending him from the 
attacks of his opponents. 

We add an extract from Mr. Cushman's minority report on that 
subject : — 

" The first inquiry, then, that presents itself, is, were those appoint- 
ments by the late executive a constitutional exercise of powers dele- 
gated to him ? This will not be denied ; and if not, by what authority 
can either branch of the legislature, or a committee, revise and con- 
demn a constitutional act of the executive, having no reference to any 
matter of legislation ? 

" The majority of the committee refrain from recommending any 
action except printing their report and accompanying documents — to 
which the undersigned has no objection ; and it is obvious they can 
do no more, unless it be to recommend a change in the constitution ; 
and yet they assume to censure and condemn the constitutional exer- 
cise of the power of an independent and co-ordinate branch of the 
government, over which, in this form of proceeding, the senate has no 
control. 

" If this is to be established as a precedent — if such a course is to 
be pursued hereafter by the dominant party in the commonwealth — it 
follows that each separate and independent branch of the government, 
in matters where they are expressly forbidden by the constitution to 
interfere with each other, may resort to mutual crimination and recrimi- 
nation, and thus involve the whole in confusion and conflict. By the 
same rule, the present governor and council may, on their records, 
censure and condemn the acts of legislation of the last senate and 
house of representatives, and a future senate may retort upon the 
present executive ; or this, or any other senate or house of repre- 
sentatives, may call for a list of the decisions of the Supreme Judicial 
Court, and proceed, in a formal report, to condemn and censm'e them 
as ' extraordinary and unexampled ;' — ' of a partisan and unwarrantable 
character,' and calculated to lower the dignity of the bench. 

" In short, where is this assumed right of mutual censure to end, if 
the practice, now introduced for the first time, it is believed, in this 
commonwealth, is to be received as a legitimate construction of the 
constitutional provisions for preserving the respective independence of 
the several departments ? 

" The rio;ht to censure and condemn cannot exist as between the 
several departments without the right to try, and no trial can be had 
without the right of the parties implicated to be heard in their defence. 
And yet, in this case, without the power to try, or to pass any legisla- 
tive action thereon, without hearing or explanation, a committee oi 
this board have agreed to do what the senate, whose agents they are, 
have no power to do, viz. : to censure and condemn the exercise of a 

constitutional power by the executive department. 

******** 

" For, what object is to be accomplished by the report of the majority 
of the committee, which has now been made to the senate ? Is it 



HENRY WVLES CUSHMAN, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 335 

looking to the future, when other elections shall be held ? Is it to 
form ' political capital' for another campaign, when the late executive 
may be again a candidate for office 1 The dullest comprehension can- 
not fail to observe that unscrupulous politicians may hereafter use that 
report for mere partisan and selfish purposes. That the dignified and 
grave proceedings of the senate of the commonwealth of Massachu- 
setts may thus be desecrated to the unholy purpose of a partisan war- 
fare, and its records covered with the abuse of a preceding executive, 
is certainly much to be regretted by all those who love, honor and 
respect the old Bay State." 

He also made other reports on various minor subjects, and was a 
monitor in the house three years in succession. As a member he was 
industrious and attentive, performing his full share of the labor which 
always devolves on a few superior minds. 

In 1843, Mr. Cushman, as chairman of a committee, reported an 
" Address of the Democratic County Convention to the people of the 
county of Franklin," which was adopted by the convention, and ordered 
to be printed. We subjoin an extract from that address : — 

" Fellow-citizens ! — It is not merely the right, but it is also the duty, 
of intelligent freemen to examine, with scrutinizing care and attention, 
not only the professed principles, but also the acts of the political par- 
ties of the day, and of the candidates they may place before the people 
for their sufirages. Our forefathers, from whom emanated those great 
democratic principles contained in the Declaration of Independence, 
examined with untiring zeal and energy the Tory doctrines then so 
common among those who administered the government. The politi- 
cal revolution of the year 1800, which brought the immortal principles 
of Jefterson before the world, was the result of a profound examina- 
tion — of the ' sober, second thought' of the people. 

******** 

" Such ever has been, and ever will be, the case. ' When the peo- 
ple sleep, tp-ants reign,' said a profound statesman of another hemis- 
phere ; and this truth should speak to us, republicans, a volume of 
warning and of caution. In the beautiful language of the poet, — 

'Oh! not yet 
May'st thou unbrace thy corselet, nor lay by 
Thy sword — nor yet, O Freedom ! close thy lids 
In slumber; for thine enemy never sleeps, 
And thou must watch and combat, till the day 
Of the new Earth and Heaven.' 

" Fellow-citizens ! — An election of more than ordmary importance 
IS approaching, as it will probably decide, in some considerable degree, 
your political ' weal or woe' for some time to come. We ask you to 
examine candidly, and without bias or prejudice, the two great parties 
mto which the country is now principally divided. We make an issue 
before you with the utmost confidence, for it is one of the cardinal 
principles of democracy, that the people, when sufficiently enlightened, 
will always act right. It does not require great learning, or profound 
attainments, but an honest, well-informed, unprejudiced, liberal-minded 
heart, to judge what is best for all the people ; — who will best make 



33 G SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

and administer the laws — not for the benefit of the few, the ' high- 
born' — but for the many, for mankind. 

" We have said two great political parties are now before the coun- 
try, with their principles and their candidates. Parties of a similar 
character have existed ever since the formation of our government, 
and, indeed, they can be traced back much further, even as far back 
as the reign of Charles II., if not the days of our Saviour This 
division of the people has, indeed, assumed diflerent aspects and differ- 
ent names, under the varying circumstances of the age and of the 
world. But the spirit and leading characteristics of each have ever 
been the same. 

" On the one side we find the true, the genuine, the honest, the 
hearty friend of the people — of equal rights and equal privileges — of 
that great principle of ' equality before the law, as we are equal before 
God' — of a government and system of legislation which grants no ex- 
clusive privileges ' to make the rich richer' — ^to take from the hand of 
labor what it earns by the sweat of its brow, and give it to the specu- 
lator, the banker, the broker, or the non-producer of any kind ; but 
like ' light, air, and the dews of heaven, its benefits and its favors fall 
equally on all :' in a word, the truth-loving, plain-hearted Democrat. 

" Democrats of Franklin ! Our cause is before you. We have 
placed 

' Our banner on the outer vyall,' 

and inscribed on it, in characters of living light, Jeffersonian Demo- 
cracy ; Morton and Reform. Shall that banner, as heretofore, float 
triumphantly, or shall it be lowered in disgrace to the dark spirit of 
federal whiggery ? 

" Men of Franklin ! the whole country expects you to do your duty. 

" Spread broadcast through the land the seed of Democratic 
Truth, with a zeal equal to the importance of our cause. 

" Then you will have the proud, the joyous satisfaction of hearing 
it proclaimed, as heretofore, from the sands of Cape Cod, and re- 
echoed from the verdant hill-tops of Berkshire — the Bay State is 

REDEEMED ; DEMOCRACY IS TRIUMPHANT." 

In 1847, Mr. Cushman was first nominated by the democratic party 
as a candidate for Lieut. -Governor, on the ticket with General Gush- 
ing for Governor, and for five successive years he has been a candidate 
for that high and honorable station. And it is a somewhat singular 
and flattering circumstance, that at each of the elections when he has 
been a candidate for Lieut. -Governor, he has received more votes, by 
several hundreds, than the other regular democratic candidates on the 
same ticket. 

At the gubernatorial election in 1851, there being no choice of Gov- 
ernor and Lieut. -Governor by the people, Mr. Cushman was chosen, 
on the part of the house of representatives, as one of the two candi- 
dates to be sent up to the senate. On the Ilth of January, of that 
year, he received every vote of the senate for that office, and, on the 
13th of January, took and subscribed the oaths of office as Lieutenaiit- 
Go\ernor of Massachusetts. 



HENRY WVLES CUSHMAX, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 337 

In 1852, there was again no choice of Governor and Lieutenant- 
Governor bv the people of Massachusetts. Mr. Cushman was a<;ain 
chosen by both branches of the legislature, as Lieutenant-Governor, 
and was qualified by taking and subscribing the necessary oaths of 
office, on the 15th of January, 1852. 

His course as Lieutenant-Governor has been dignified, discreet and 
satisfactory to his party and to the people generally. In Massachusetts, 
the Lieutenant-Governor is, ex ojicio, chairman of " the committee on 
pardons," a delicate, difficult, and often trying situation. For, if par- 
dons are too freely granted, the laws and the administration of justice 
are thrown into disrepute ; but, if a hardened insensibility predomi- 
nates, then the cause of humanity and equity, the great objects of the 
pardoning power, are lost sight of. The course of Mr. Cushman in 
that particular has been in harmony with an enlightened and humane 
public sentiment : conservative and cautious on the one hand, but 
wisely liberal to the young, to the reformed, and to those whose pun- 
ishment is largely disproportionate to their crimes. 

Having been a candidate for the office of Lieutenant-Governor of 
Massachusetts for five consecutive years, and been elected to that 
office two years, Mr. Cushman has recently declined being again a 
candidate for re-election. The following is ah extract from his letter 
announcing his declination : — 

" In retiring from a situation m which I have been placed by the 
kindness of my political friends for so long a period, I beg leave to 
say, that every year's experience and observation have more fully con- 
firmed me in the truthfulness and righteousness of those great princi- 
ples of government which have been the rule and guide of the demo- 
cratic party in the United States, from the days of Jefl'erson to the 
present time. And my faith is daily strengthened, that our republic, 
directed by the comprehensive, liberal and progressive policy of that 
party, is to go on prospering beyond all former examples ; and is to 
show, in coming time, more perfectly ^jnactical belief va ' the universal 
fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man.' 

" With a heart full of gratitude and thanks to my democratic fellow- 
citizens for their unvarying support at all times, I have only to regret 
that I have not had greater ability to serve them more efliciently in 
disseminating their principles and establishing their policy of adminis- 
tration. I indulge the hope, hoAvever, that the honor and the integrity 
of the democratic party of our state have not suffered in my hands." 

In his native town, where the true merits of a man are best known, 
Mr. Cushrhan has always been remarkably popular. He was chosen 
a member of the school committee of the town soon after arriving at 
the age of twenty-one, and continued as such for fifteen years, till other 
duties prevented him from longer serving in that capacity. He has 
held the office of town-clerk and treasurer for nineteen consecutive 
years, and ha§ frequently been appointed to many other responsible 
stations by the people of his town. He was postmaster for ten years, 
and for more than fifteen years a highly successful superintendent of a 
Sabbath School in liernardston. 

For nearly twenty years Mr. C. and his wife have been members of 
the Congregational (Unitarian) Church, in his native town, of which 



338 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS, 

he is an active and leading member, and their practice has been con- 
sistent witli their professions. 

In the subject of education, and particularly in the common school, 
Mr. Cushmau has ever taken a great interest. Many years since, 
when the Board of Education in Massachusetts was assailed by secret 
as well as open enemies, he aided efficiently in sustaining it, by his 
counsel and his pen, and for quite a number of years he has been one 
of the most active members and officers of the Franklin County Com- 
mon School Association. He is now a member of the Massachusetts 
Board of Education. 

He has, for twenty years past, been a frequent contributor and cor- 
respondent to the periodical press, and has seldom written what was 
not interesting and instructive. He has also been often called to give 
lyceum lectures, and addresses on various occasions, all of which have 
been creditable and popular performances. His lectures on " Punctu- 
ality," and on " Physical Education" were pertinent and practical, and 
were repeated many times before the Lyceum of Franklin county. 
He prepared and delivered also a minute and elaborate " History of 
the Shay's Insurrection in Massachusetts," and we understand it is his 
design to enlarge and publish it at some future day. Some years since 
lie compiled an " Historical Sketch of Bernardston," which was pub- 
lished at the time, and, like the local history of the New-England 
towns, was highly valuable and interesting. He has now in progress, 
and will soon publish, " An Historical and Genealogical Account of the 
Cushmans in the United States, from the days of Robert Cushman, 
the Puritan, in 1617, to the present time." A work of that kind will 
be valuable, particularly to the family name, and will be useful to the 
genealogist and historian of future ages. He has, for a number of 
years past, been a frequent writer of political articles for the periodi- 
cals of his native county ; some of which, partaking of the character- 
istics of the day, were rather highly seasoned and somewhat personal. 
In this particular he only imitated his contemporaries. But we think, 
when the impartial historian shall come to look at such matters in the 
light of history, they will hardly stand an impartial criticism — " the 
test of time and the judgment of men." 

Mr. Cushman's letters from abroad, which have been quite frequent, 
have usually been "read with satisfaction, and have been considered 
fair specimens of an epistolary correspondence for the periodical 
press. 

The organization of Mr. Cushman's mind, his education and habits, 
are such that the details of business entrusted to his care are always 
faithfully and thoroughly attended to. He has, therefore, for many 
years, been a director or trustee of savings and insurance institutions, 
and an officer in various literary, political and business associations. 
He is now an ex-afficio member of the Board of Overseers of Har- 
vard University ; a trustee of Deerfield, and also of New Salem Acad- 
emy ; a trustee of the Franklin County Institution for Savings, and of 
the Franklin County Agricultural Society ; a director of the State Life 
Assurance Company at Worcester, of the Conway Fire Insurance 
Company, and of the Franklin County Bank ; a life member of the 
American Unitarian Association, of the Pilgrim Society at Plymouth 



HENRV WYLES OUSHMAN, 07 MASSACHTTSF.TTS. 339 

ami of the Franklin County Agricultural Society ; a corresponding 
member of the Historic Ceneiilogical Society at Boston, and first Yice- 
President ol" the State Legislative Temperance Society. In 1849, he 
was chosen President of the Franklin County Bank, at Grcenlield, 
which office he now holds. In .lanuary, 1851, he was elected Presi- 
dent of the Franklin County Agricultural Society, and was re-elected 
to the same office in January, 1852. He was a member of the " Cen- 
tral Board of Agriculture of Massachusetts," and is now an cx-officio 
member of the " State Board of Agriculture," in the estalilishmcnt of 
which, by an act of the legislature of Massachusetts, in April, 1853, 
he took an active and influential part. 

In politics, Mr. Cushman has, for many years, been attached, from 
the deep conviction of his understanding, to the democratic party, the 
policy and principles of which he most sincerely believes to be for the 
best interests of our country. In his native county, and in the state, 
he has been among the most prominent and efficient leading members 
of his party, as the extracts we have given above, from his writings, 
would very clearly indicate. His course as a politician has been open 
and frank, and though, in times past, some of his political opponents 
have, from " petty jealousy," endeavored " to blast his fair fame," yet, 
from all such trials he has come out, like gold from the furnace, doubly 
purified. While he adheres strictly to the democratic organizatioii, his 
views are understood to be decidedly anti-slavery. He believes, how- 
ever, that all sorts of slavery — moral, political, conventional, as well 
as physical — are to be ameliorated and abolished by the difiusion of 
knowledge, Christianity, and republicanism ; and that such an advance 
in civilization is to come through the great democratic ideas and the 
democratic organizations of our country. He is a firm believer in the 
doctrine of " human progress" in every department of literature, sci- 
ence, theology, and education, and is, therefore, a practical reformer. 
That a " good time 's coming" for our country and for humanity he most 
confidently believes. He is, consequently, no conservative — no wor- 
shipper of the " dead past," but is willing to " work on and work ever," 
hopeful and trusting in the ultimate high destiny of humanity. 

In his organization, Mr. Cushman is cool, collected, and anti-nerv- 
ous. He therefore examines deliberately and acts cautiously. He 
seldom gives an opinion on any important question without a full con- 
sideration of its merits, and, when his opinion is once formed, it requires 
strong reasons to induce him to change. Firmness, reliability, delibe- 
ration and sound judgment are among his leading characteristics. In 
his friendship he is ever true and steady, and while he " forgives his 
enemies," he docs iiot forget to love his friends. 

In his business transactions, Mr. Cushman has ever had the reputa- 
tion of perfect integrity and a high sense of honor. He has, therefore, 
been successful, and has accumulated a competence of " this world's 
goods." 

" The Rich Men of Massachusetts," a book recently published, 
includes his name in the list, and says of him, " all this weight of 
honor he has borne without tottering, nor has any eminence on which 
he has stood made him giddy. He is decidedly a firm man and self- 
possessed ; but his greatest glory is the possession of the affection, 



340 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

esteem and confidence of his townsmen, for the interest he takes in 
every thing that pertains to the public good or private charity." 

In all the private relations of life, as a citizen, a neighbor, and a 
friend, Mr. Cushman sustains a high and irreproachable character. In 
his habits he is correct and regular. He is strictly a temperance man, 
and is at this time the first Vice-President of the Massachusetts Legis- 
lative Temperance Society. His perception is quick and clear ; his 
judgment discriminating and sound. No man possesses, in a greater 
degree, the confidence and esteem of the community in which he 
resides ; no one is oftener resorted to, by those in trouble and distress, 
for counsel and aid, which are always promptly and cheerfully ren- 
dered. His industry is well-directed and untiring. Though he has 
not the vigorous physical constitution possessed by some, yet he 
accomplishes an amount of labor that few men can perform. " It is 
better to wear out, than to rust out," is his motto, and in his rigid 
adherence to this rule, and in the acknowledged purity of his charac- 
ter, lies the great secret of his remarkable success in life. But, we 
must bring this sketch to a close ; and, as we follow him from the time 
when he first stepped upon the stage of action through all the various 
responsible positions, the duties of which he has so ably, faithfully and 
acceptably discharged, to his present high and honorable station in the 
councils of his native state, we cannot but commend to the youth of 
Massachusetts the example of Henry W. Cushman, as worthy of 
their study, respect, and imitation.* 

* At a town meeting held on the 7th of March, 1853, Mr. Cushman was elected, 
by a large majority, as a delegate from Bernardston, his native town, to the conven- 
tion for revisi7i,g the constitution of Massachusetts. This affords the best evidence of 
the confidence of his townsmen in his integrity as a man, and the soundness of 
his principles as a politician. — J. L. 







"steuvtt.le. s.c 



HON. NATHANIEL RIDLEY EAVES, 

OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The honorable Nathaniel Ridley Eaves was born in the State of 
Virginia, in the town of Bellfield, on the Meherrin River. His mother 
died when he was but five days old, leaving three sons and a daughter. 
His fether was a native of Greenville county, Va., and served in the Re- 
volutionary war, at the close of which, being then quite young, he was 
stationed at Nansemond River, where he became acquainted with the 
mother of Mr. Eaves, and, after the war terminated, married her. She 
was a Holiday, and her ancestors were among the first permanent set- 
tlers in Nansemond county. Mr. Eaves' father, shortly after the death 
of his wife, removed to the State of South Carolina, and settled in 
Chester District, on the Catawba River. 

Mr. Eaves received most of his academical education at Mt. Bethel 
Academy, in Newberry District, after which he entered the South Caro- 
lina College, and graduated in the year 1815. He was always greatly 
attached to his alma mater, and in his subsequent senatorial career was 
devoted to its interests and prosperity, being usually a member of the 
standing committee, whose mure special duty it was to superintend the 
concerns of the college, education, and religion. 

After receiving his degree of bachelor of arts, he entered, as a law 
student, the office of the late Colonel Joseph Gist, of Union District, one 
of the most eminent and successful practitioners at the bar in the up- 
country of South Carolina. In the spring of 1819, Mr. Eaves, having 
received his license] commenced the practice of the law at Chester 
Court-house ; and so great was the esteem in which he was held by his 
late instructor, that the latter, having proposed terms, entered into a co- 
partnership with him in the practice of his profession. 

The father of Mr. Eaves was possessed of but a small estate. His 
children were justly entitled to a handsome property in right of their 
mother ; but being on his way to Virginia to claim it in their behalf, 
he was taken sick, and died ; and during the long minority which fol- 
lowed, there being no person to represent and prosecute the claim, the 
property was dissipated. 

Mr. Eaves, as a lawyer, is not so remarkable for the quickness with 
which ho arrives at his conclusions, as for their certainty, and for the 
caution with which he expresses a legal opinion. If he is not always 
prepared to solve an intricate query, he reserves his judgment until, 
by a patient examination of authorities, his mind is fiilly made up on 
the subject, and he then gives his reply without hesitation. He has 
thus acquired the confidence of his clients in the correctness of his judg- 
ment on all occasions. As a speaker at the bar, as well as in the 
Senate chamber, his style is rather discursive, but he always succeeds 
in presenting the strong points of his case with a force that produces 
conviction, sometimes indulir'ni": in witticisms and original remarks at 
the expense of an opponent, which are a source of amusement to the 



342 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

court and jury. His learning is less profound than accurate, less com- 
prehensive than particular. He is endowed with a large share of what 
is called hard common sense — a most invaluable trait in a lawyer, 
and which compensates for the absence of more showy accomplish- 
ments — to which he adds what is equally essential to success in any of 
the walks of life, a thorough knowledge of mankind. There may be 
much in his speeches that is irrelevant to the matter in hand, but what 
is relevant and important is sure to be found in them ; and if a particu- 
lar string in the human heart is to be touched, he knows where, when, 
and how to touch it, so as to obtain the response he calls for. The 
same characteristic enthusiasm and perseverance which have marked 
his career in other respects have distinguished his course at the bar. 
If he undertakes a case, he devotes himself to it, heart and soul, for the 
sake of justice, truth, the cause of his client, and his own reputation. 
He is overborne by no difficulties, and dispirited by no failures in the 
progress of his cause. It is his determination to succeed, in defiance of 
all obstacles, that so often crowns his labors with singular success, con- 
trary often to the expectations of his friends and his opponents. 

Since the year 1824, Mr. Eaves has generally represented his dis- 
trict, either in the house of representatives or the Senate of South 
Carolina. He has great personal popularity and influence, but in ob- 
taining his seat in either branch of the legislature he has generally en- 
countered pretty serious opposition, with the exception of the last can- 
vass, in 1848, when he was returned to the senate without opposition. 
As a politician he has no consolidation propensities, but is a thorough 
consistent state-rights democrat, of the Jefferson school. In 1830, Mr. 
Eaves, in common with many other politicians, was some-what slow in 
making up his mind as to the expediency of nullification, but finally 
avowed himself in favor of that measure. His hesitation, however, 
prevented his obtaining a seat in the state convention, which passed 
the nullifying ordinance, although he received the nomination of his 
friends. The same cause operated to prevent his return to the state 
senate at the next election, when he was defeated by a most respect- 
able and popular opponent. The question with him then was simply 
a question of expediency. In principle he is, and always has been, an 
advocate of the doctrines of state-rights and state-sovereignty, as laid 
down in the celebrated Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of '98 and 
'99. Perceiving his error on that occasion, he has always since ex- 
pressed his opinions on all vital questions with promptitude, firmness, 
and decision, and after having once taken his position, has maintained 
his opinions with intrepidity and zeal, suffering nothing to divert him 
from his purpose. In the recent controversy of South Carolina with 
the federal government, growing out of the slavery agitation, he was 
among the first to take part with the secessionists, and to advocate a 
withdrawal of the state from the Union, as preferable to a continuance 
in it in a state of perpetual hostility. He believed that it was not only 
the right, but the duty of the state to secede, rather than submit longer 
to unjust and unconstitutional legislation, which placed in continual 
jeopardy not only the property, but the lives of his fellow-citizens, 
and threatened to overthrow the pillars of constitutional liberty itself 
Though the party with which he acted on this occasion was ultimately 



I 



NAT:iAN-lJiL idi.I.F.V e^VKS, OK SOLTM CAROLINA. 0-13 

defeated, he has not seen cause to retract or abandon its principles — 
principles which ho adopted from a thorough conviction of tlieir con- 
servative character, and which he still approves. Mr. Eaves is, at this 
time, a member of the state senate, but having signified his intention 
to terminate his long legislative career, he has declined being a candi- 
date for re-election. 

We now turn to a portion of Mr. Eaves' history upon which his 
friends are apt to dwell with no less pride than pleasure, and vrhich 
ought to render his name conspicuous in our American annals. 

When a requisition was made, by the general government upon the 
state of South Carolina, for one reg'ment of volunteers to serve durin": 
the war with Mexico, Mr. Eaves was among the first to volunteer his 
services, and took an active part in raising the company which marched 
from Chester District — the first district in the state which responded to 
the call for volunteers. He made several speeches at the court-house, 
appealing to the patriotism of his fellow-citizens, and persuading them, 
with all the enthusiasm so peculiar to him, to enrol their names in the 
company. But when he beheld the tears and distress of the women, 
who were alarmed at the prospect of a temporary, if not a final, separa- 
tion from their husbands, his own sympathies were deeply moved. He 
then insisted that no married man should volunteer — that they should 
stay at home and take care of the women and children — a proposition 
which was applauded by all present, and which difi'used joy and kindled 
gratitude wdiere only feelings of grief and sadness were experienced be- 
fore. As the young men rushed forward to enrol their names as vohm- 
teers, he exclaimed, amidst the applauses of the crowd, " We are mak- 
ing soldiers faster than the Mexicans can make bullets to kill them !" 
The company thus raised was composed of young unmarried men of 
unblemished character. Mr. Eaves neither sought, nor would he accept, 
any office in the company, except that of bearing the flag presented to it 
by the ladies, but volunteered in it as a mere private soldier, although 
he had long held a military commission of a high grade. Subsequently, 
however, when the regiment went into active service, he was appointed 
by Colonel Butler to disburse the appropriation of twenty thousand 
dollars made by the state for the use of the regiment. At the termina- 
tion of the war, h-e accounted to the state for every dollar of the fund 
expended by him as disbursing officer. Although unaccustomed to 
hard labor, he endured, through all the vicissitudes of a trying campaign, 
the fatiijues of a common soldier much better than numbers who were 
accustomed to labor on a farm. By strict attention to his diet, he ge- 
nerally enjoyed excellent health, and, while many young men returned 
home with constitutions impaired by an unwholesome climate and 
habits of indulgence, he returned to his country in better health than 
he enjoyed when he left it. He fought in the ranks as a private, in 
every battle in vvhich his regiment was engaged in Mexico, in all of 
which battles he displayed the coolest bravery, and was always found 
in the front rank inciting to victoi-y. He used a fine percussion -lock 
musket, presented to him by Major Huger, of the United States Oi'd- 
iianci' Department. After the army had arrived at Puebla, and during 
the time of their stay there, an order was issued by General Scott fo' 



344 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

the soldiers to return their muskets to the ordnance department, in or- 
der that such as required it should be repaired for service, inasmuch as 
the army was about to march in a few days for the city of Mexico. 
Major liuger, having heard favorably of Mr. Eaves, sent for him, and 
told him ''he wanted to make him a present of a musket, on condition 
thai he would not dishonor it, and would name it the Huger gun." 
Mr. Eaves replied, that "he would cheerfully name it as requested, and 
that his bones should bleach on the heights of Puebla before he would 
dishonor the gun !" They separated, and next met in the city of Mex- 
ico, when Major Huger said, " he rejoiced to meet him ; that he had 
heard a good report of him ; that when he gave him the gun, he felt 
confident that he would sustain his character for bravery." Mr. Eaves 
brought this gun home with him, and values it highly. 

It may be interesting and profitable to follow the course of this gal- 
lant soldier from the time of his leaving South Carolina, early in Janu- 
ary, 1847, till his return home the following December, and to point 
out some of the most interesting incidents that happened to him and his 
brave associates during the interval. Fortunately, most of the letters 
written by him to his friends during his absence, have been preserved, 
so that he may be made the narrator of his own progress. 

The order calling the regiment into immediate service and directing 
the several companies composing it to rendezvous at Charleston, was 
issi'ed during the session of the legislature of the state, and whilst Mr. 
Eaves was in attendance as a member of the senate. Having obtained 
leave of absence, he returned to Chester court-house in time to take up 
the line of march with his company from that point. This march he 
performed on foot to Columbia, a distance of sixty miles, starting on the 
5th of December, 1846, and reaching Columbia on the 8th day of the 
the same month. He proceeded thence with the company to Charleston. 
After being regularly mustered into service, and the regiment not be- 
ing ready to proceed, he obtained a furlough, and returned to Columbia 
on the 13th December, to attend to his legislative duties. The follow- 
ing letter was then written by him to his sister, Mrs. Esther Buford, of 
Chester C. H. 

" Columbia, Dec. 14, 1846. 

" Dear Sister, — I received your kind letter on my arrival yester- 
day, from Charleston. I am well ; but the blisters on my feet, which 
were occasioned by marching from Chester to this place, are not yet 
well, and they are somewhat painful. Friends from all quarters of the 
state greet me whenever they see me. The Charleston people speak 
iu the highest terms of the Chester company. Yesterday morning, I 
left the company at Camp Magnolia, three miles this side of Charleston 
— all well, except a Mr. Brakefield, who was quite indisposed from a 
cold taken on the route. I called at his tent before I left, and found 
him better. 

"I obtained a furlough to repair to this place to perform my duties 
in the legislature to the end of the session. I shall return to the camp 
on Saturday, the 1st proximo. 

" Please go to my farm and see that my negroes are well clad. Do 



NATHANIEL RIDLEY EAVES. OF SOUTH CAROLINA. Si5 

the best you can for me in my absence. I have an abiding hope of 
seeing you all again. Remember me to your daughters. 

" I remain, affectionately, your brother, 

"N. R. Eaves." 

The next letter in order before us is one addressed to C. D. Melton, 
Esq., attorncy-at-law, Chester C. H., and is dated, 

"Off Mobile Bay, January '2.9, 1847. 

"Dear Sir, — I have only to say that we have encountered unpa- 
ralleled hardships.* We have been anchored in this bay one day and 
night, and experienced a storm yesterday and throughout last night, 
not equaled or surpassed in this region for twenty years back. Our 
sufferings are, at this time, extreme. One vesssel came in sight of us 
with volunteers who wished to get on board. The storm was so great 
they had to fly for safety. In attempting to get ashore, the small ves- 
sel was wrecked, and they had to swim three quarters of a mile. They 
are this morning being placed on the Alhambra, the vessel in which the 
colonel and suite, with myself and four companies, are. There were 
one hundred and sixty persons, it is said, on board a steamboat that 
was blown up last night, including nearly one hundred ladies. The 
ladies, it is said, were nearly all saved — the men nearly all lost their 
lives. This morning, those who witnessed the catastrophe represent it 
as the most awful sight they had ever seen. I am in good health. 

"Your's truly, 

N. R. Eaves." 

We hear nothing further of Mr. Eaves till his arrival in Mexico. His 
first letter written thence is addressed to his connections, Messrs. S. 
Alexander and C. D. Melton, and is as follows : 



') 



"LoBOS, Mexico, February 28, 1847. 
" Gentlemen, — I have not received a letter from any one in South 
Carolina since I left Camp Johnson, at Hamburg. We arrived at this 
place on the 12th instant, and have been here ever since. We start to- 
morrow for Vera Cruz. Forty or fifty ships will sail at the same time. 
The enemy have been looking and preparing for us. All the dis- 
tinguished men of the army are here, except Generals Taylor and 
Worth. It is believed we shall be received with a severe struggle. La 
Vega is commander of that place. It is General Scott's determination 
to attack it, for weal or for woe, between this and the tenth of March. 
We expect to encounter great peril in landing, as it will doubtless 
be under a heavy fire from the enemy. Time must develop the result. 
" We have suffered since we left Hamburg more than 1 will here at- 
tempt to describe. After we arrived at Griffin, Georgia, we had 
to encounter all the inconveniences of cold incident to a severe winter, 
until we reached Mobile. When we left that point and got aboard the 
ship Alhambra, we were seventeen days in crossing the gulf of Mexico, 
till our arrival at the place we now are. We encountered all the 
perils of three northers, known to be so dangerous in this region. In 
fiet, we all tiiought we should be lost. One ship in our company was 



346 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

lost, tilled with Louisianians, about ten miles from this point, and 
between this point and Tampico. The next day we passed the wreck, 
and saw many Mexicans on the shore, gathering the valuables that 
were drifted from the ship. The poor ship-wrecked fellows all got on 
shore in the enemy's country, — about three hundred of them, and only 
saved fifty of their guns. They struck for Tampico. The Mexicans 
heard of them, and assembled a large force; but before they attacked 
them, they called on them to surrender. The officer in command asked 
for four hours to consider what to do. As soon as the Mexicans retired 
to their location, the officer caused a large number o/ fires to be built, 
with a view to delude them. As soon as the fires began to burn, 
he struck for Tampico, the nearest point of safety, and arrived there 
without being attacked by the Mexicans. 

"In one of our vessels, there were between five and six hundred 
souls — soldiers and officers. We encountered every peril incident to 
sea-life, except a shipwreck. One poor soldier died on the voyage. We 
buried him on Sunday, in the usual method of burials at sea, by envi- 
roning his body in a coarse sail-cloth shroud and a blanket tightly corded 
over it. To the feet were attached about 400 lbs. of bricks. He was 
laid on a broad plank on the edge of the ship, and, after the reading of 
a solemn and impressive service, the body was plunged into the water, 
and went down as so much lead. I was anxious to see the last of the 
poor volunteer, and got a good way up on the ropes above the hull 
of the ship, when I witnessed the whole ceremony. 

" On the 12th of February we landed oft' the island, and, on the 13th, 
went on shore. It is a tairy little spot, about one mile in circumfer- 
ence, and six miles distant from the main land. It was covered with 
vines and shrubbery of numberless kinds, with the India-rubber and 
the lime tree, together with flowers of every variety of hue, and 
in great abundance. The island appears to be a formation of decom- 
posed shells, of which there are many rare and curious specimens. 
The climate, during the day, is intensely hot, and during the northers, 
which occur about every six days, and which continue to blow from one 
to three days, there is a continual north wind, the harshness and cold- 
ness of which try the stoutest constitutions. After this, the weather 
becomes calm and serene, and the heat continues to increase in intensity 
until it becomes almost intolerable. Then, after about six days, 
another norther commences, and these variations of climate and tem- 
perature continue until about the 15th of April. 

" Colonel Butler is with us, and will continue with us during our 
stay on this island. General Twiggs called on us yesterday, and will 
remain with us until to-morrow, at which time we shall all leave 
for Vera Cruz. He speaks of the Palmetto regiment as one of the 
finest he ever saw. This small island, but a few days back, was 
a desert wild ; — now it is lined with tents, and has five or six thousand 
occupants. Several thousands have not landed, but remain in the 
vessels. Adieu! 

" Yours truly, 

"N. R. Eaves." 

An anecdote is told of Mr. Eaves, which proves that the most 
intrepid valor is not proof against the overpowering assaults of sea- 



NATHANIEL KIDLEY EAVES, OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 347 

sickness. On the passage from Mobile bay to Lobos Island, a violent 
storm arose, during which most of the soldiers, including the colonel 
of the regiment, were very sea-sick, and retained their berths. Mr. 
Eaves, getting out of his, seized hold of the cabin door in order to sus- 
tain himself, uttering as he did so some exclamations, which afforded 
his friends, particularly the colonel, much merriment, and which were 
often repeated aftei wards at his expense. Not aware that he had 
auditors, Mr. Eaves thus soliloquized: ''Here am I, N. U. Eaves, 
from Chester. I had friends, home and wealth, as much as any reason- 
able man should ask, and here have I thrown myself on the mercy of a 
rude element that has no mercy. But give me one foot again on terra 
frnia. and I defy creation !" 

It appears from a letter subsequently written to Mr. Melton, that the 
army did not leave Lobos Island until the 3d of March. On the 9th, 
the disembarkation of troops commenced ; on the 13th, the investment 
of the city was completed ; on the 18th, trenches were opened at night; 
on the 22d, the city was summoned to surrender, — on refusal, seven 
mortars opened a fire of bombs ; on the 24th, the navy battery, consist- 
ing of three long thirty-two pounders and three sixty-eight pounders, 
Paixhan guns, opened a fire in the morning, distance 700 yards; on the 
25th, another battery opened a breach in the wall of the city. The fire 
was very destructive to the town. Early in the morning of the 26.th, 
the enemy proposed a surrender, — commissioners, on the American 
side, Generals Worth and Pillow, and Col. Totten. On the 29th, 
negotiations were completed ; the city and castle surrendered, and the 
Mexican troops marched out and laid down their arms. The American 
troops occupied the city and batteries of the town and castle. At noo'* 
of that day, the American ensign was hoisted on both, and was saluted 
by the American vessels. The garrison of about four thousand men, 
laying down their arms as prisoners of war, were sent to their homes 
on parole. Five generals, sixty inferior officers, and two hundred and 
seventy company officers, were among the prisoners. The total loss of 
the American army, from the day of landing, (March 9th,) was sixty- 
five persons in killed and wounded. The slaughter of the Mexicans 
was immense. 

The commanding general was stationed in the city, while his second 
in command held the castle. Their regular force was about three thou- 
sand, and they had about the same number of irregulars. Outside the 
city was General La Vega, with a force of from six thousand to ten 
thousand cavalry. Colonel Ilarney, with between two hundred and 
four hundred United States dragoons, charged on and repulsed this im- 
mense force with terrible carnage, scattering them in all directions. 

Such was the intelligence brought by the Princeton, which sailed from 
Vei-a Cruz o\\ the 29th March, after the surrender had taken place, bear- 
ing dispatches to our government, — intelligence which difi'used joy, pride 
and exultation throughout all our cities and our whole Amirican popu- 
lation. Never had a siege, undertaken under such disadvantageous cir- 
cumstances, been attended with such glorious results. It is without a 
parallel in the annals of military waifare. 

In a letter addressed by Mr. Eaves to the late Samuel Weir, Estj^., 



348 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

of Columbia, South Carolina, a spirited account of tlie investment and 
surrender of Vera Cruz is given. The following is the letter : 

" Vera Cruz, April 9, 1847. 

" Dear Sir, — I have but a few moments to write, but comply with 
my promise to write you when anything of importance occurs. We 
have taken this place, and also Alvarado, forty miles distant. 

"Had 1 time to give you a full description of the capture of Vera 
Cruz, it would interest you greatly. Laying a map of Mexico before 
you, jou will conceive of the chaparal, from shore to shore, as lined 
with fifteen thousand persons. You will see a small island two miles 
below the city and castle. Between that island and the shore, imagine 
you behold fifty-odd vessels, which comprise the fleet. Half of the 
above number of men are put into surf boats, forming one grand line. 
After these boats are filled with the required number, all strike for the 
shore. When the ardent souls approach within fifty feet of the land, 
they leap out of the boats in four feet of water, and rush to the shore 
with almost deafening shouts. The boats soon return for the balance 
of the army, to which our regiment was attached. As soon as they are 
all landed the line of march is formed to surround the city, keeping out 
of reach of its bombs and cannon-shots, as an incessant firing was com- 
menced upon us from the time of landing. This was on the 10th of March, 
and we had all our cannon, munitions of war and provisions to land, and 
roads to cut through th' roughest country your eyes ever beheld. It 
took us froni this time to the 21st to fix the batteries and get prepared 
for the attack. In the mean time, the infantry had made the necessary 
roads, and the road was now filled, from shore to shore, two miles in 
extent, with living souls. During their advance, frequent skirmishes 
took place, when some were killed, and Colonel Dickinson and others 
were wounded. 

"The line being completed, no Mexican was permitted to go into the 
city or to leave it. Eumor said there were five hundred trying to get 
in, but they were afraid to make the attempt. About one-third of the 
cannons and bombs were fixed on batteries, and delay was threatening 
to be an evil. General Scott determined to commence an attack on the 
22d March, which he did. General Worth's battery was placed six 
hundred yards southeast of the town, and the marine battery between 
this and the gulf, east of the town, and some three or four guns west of 
Worth's. Matters being thus arranged, we commenced a heavy and 
incessant fire on the town, which was kept up day and night, till the 
evening of the 25th, when the enemy sent out a white flag, soliciting a 
truce of twenty-four hours, in order to bring in their dead. The General 
granted them four. Early in the morning of the 26th they again com- 
municated with General Scott, proposing to surrender the town, castle, 
military stores, cannon, &c., and stating that they would be prepared to 
make the surrender on the 29th, which accordingly they did. 

"I should have stated, that before we commenced cannonading and 
bombarding the town, the General sent in a white flag requiring them 
to surrender, and if not disposed to do this, requesting them to remove 
the women and children, and also giving an opportunity to the minis 



NATHANIEL RIDLEY EAVKS, OF SOUTH CAUOLINA. Vi-id 

ters of other nations to leave. General Morales disdainfully replied to 
this by saying that he would not surrender, nor would he remove the 
women and children ;, that he would defend the city with his best skill 
and ability so long as one particle of the materials of which it was com- 
posed adhered to another, and then turned and wallied off. The minis- 
ters did not leave, nor the women and children. 

" On the night of the 22d, the soldiers having nothing to do but await 
the order for a charge, and the nights being clear with moonlight, 1, with 
hundreds of others, ascended some barren sand hills to witness the fir- 
ing. I must say the scene was grand beyond description, each party 
apparently contending with the other which should shoot the most and 
the fastest. 1 became much excited at times, when it would appear that 
the enemy had the advantage of us ; but soon again we could see our bat- 
teries again letting loose on them. We could see the bombs coursing 
through the air by the match and hear them tailing on the houses and 
in the streets. ^lany houses were greatly injured, and are, at the time 
I now write, undergoing repairs. Such is the case with the great tavern 
situated on the Plaza where I am quartered. 

"After we had taken this city. General Quitman's division, to which 
the Palmetto regiment was attached, was ordered to go and take Alva- 
rado, forty-five iniles distant. We started on the 30th March for that 
place, but on our arrival, found it perfectly defenceless. All had fled 
except a few who were friendly to us. We took thirty-four pieces of 
cannon and placed them on board our ship, which is still left there. 
We returned in eight or nine days from the time of starting from this 
place, and have been here ever since. The army has been marching 
by parcels, for several days back, to Jalapa. We expect to follow in 
three or four days. 

"I remain, yours truly, 

" N. R. Eaves." 

Mr. Eaves complains, in his letter of the 28th February, written to 
Messrs. Melton and Alexander, that he had received no letters from 
South Carolina since he left. It must have been highly gratifying to his 
feelings, therefore, when perhaps he began to believe himself neglected 
by his friends, to receive the following kind and complimentary letter 
from his Excellency David Johnson, then Governor of South Carolina, 
written in reply to a letter of Mr. Eaves, of the 22d March : 

"Columbia, Ibth May, 1847. 

"My Dear Major, — Your fiivor of the 22d March, although written 
so long ago, contains so many exciting incidents that I took the liberty 
to give it to the press for publication, in the belief that it would be ac- 
ceptable and interesting, not only to your personal friends but to the 
public generally. By me it is the more appreciated as coming from 
a tried friend, one who, prompted by patriotism alone, has given up all 
the comforts that wealth could afford, and the enjoyment of social life 
in the midst of numerous friends, to become the tenant of " the tented 
field," and breast the dangers of the battle-field. But you will have 
your reward. Our people, one and all, take the deepest interest in all 
the privations and sufferings of our gallant Palmetto regiment, and will 



350 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

receive all our sons, on their return, with open arms. Old Chester will 
not forget her own. 

'' Our last advices locate the Palmetto regimeot at Jalapa, and the 
advance of the army at Perote, driving the enemy before you, or 
rather scattering them to the winds. Such is our confidence in our 
children that there is an universal regret and sympathy felt for you 
that you were not in a position to share in the signal and glorious vic- 
tory of Cerro Gordo. We know, however, that it was not of your 
own seeking, or your own fault. It would be cruel to wish it; but if 
another trial of strength must come I should delight to hear that the 
Palmetto banner waived in the front of the storm, for I know the regi- 
ment will prove worthy of the state they represent. 

'• We have very little local news of interest. The most exciting is a 
visit from the lion Daniel Webster, of the Bay state. He is now 
here, having visited Charleston. He has received, both here and in 
Charleston, the attentions and courtesies due to his high attainments 
and character, and will go away better informed of our peculiar in- 
stitutions, and well satisfied with the usage he has received at our 
hands. Of your immediate connections I have no information of re- 
cent date, and I suppose they keep you advised of everything that con- 
cerns themselves. The courts of appeal are now in session, and 
necessarily all the judges and your friends of the bar are present, all 
ill good health and spirits, except our friend Chancellor Harper, whose 
health, although much improved, is not yet perfectly restored. 

" Pray let me hear from you frequently, at least from every stage 
on your route to the city of Mexico, which is understood to be your 
destination. Remember your friends when revelling in the halls of 
Montezuma. 

"Very truly and sincerely, 

" David Johnson. 
"Major N. R. Eaves." 

The next letter of Mr. Eaves which informs us of the progress of 
events and of the army in Mexico, is one bearing date June 3, 1847, 
written from Puebla, and addressed to Messrs Melton and Alexander. 
It is a voluminous epistle, containing a narrative of the most important 
events that had happened to himself and to the Palmetto regiment from 
the time of their leaving South Carolina up to the time when the letter 
was wi'itten. As an account of many of these occurrences has been 
given in previous letters, we shall make only such extracts from the 
one before us as seem to be necessary. 

Some misapprehension appears to have prevailed at home as to the 
part which the Chester company had taken in the investment and 
capture of Vera Cruz. Mr. Eaves, anxious to maintain the honor of 
that very gallant company, says of it, in the letter before us, in the 
way of vindication : 

" I see that it is the impression of the Chester people that their boys 
took no part in this victory. This is a great mistake. Immense work 
had to be done before the bombardment of the city could take place. 
This work was to be done during the night-time. Hence our regiment 
had to furnish its quota, which was one hundred men every night, and 



351 

never did men labor harder or more zealously than they did in digging 
ditches, and in making embankments, and forts, whieh were erected 
within six hundred yards of the city. The enemy all this time were 
firing on us fiom the city, and we literally had to dodge them, or their 
balls would have destroyed hundreds of our men while they were con- 
structing roads to surround the city through immense sand hills. These 
sand hills are enclosed with shrubbery of every kind, while the valleys 
are filled with chaparal and vines, all appearing parched to death for 
want of rain. Now, sirs, I assert that our regiment did as much, and 1 
say more, in preparing for the bombardment than any other part of the 
army, up to the time of loading and shooting the cannons, which be- 
longed alone to the gunners of the army." 

In this letter we have an account of the surrender of the city, and as 
it is peculiarly characteristic, we shall take leave to insert here : 

" I was present," he says, " at the scene. As I looked around on the 
pretty green plain, about two miles long and one wide, lined all around 
with soldiers, clad in their best attire, I thought I had never witnessed 
a grander or more imposing sight. Scott, Worth, and the other officers 
of the army standing in the centre of this plain, looked as if anxiously 
waiting to march into the city. On the arrival of the appointed hour 
thirty-five hundred or more Mexicans, coming from the city, first form 
a line of about a mile, and after stacking their guns, form a line within 
the stacked guns. Presently come all the citizens, from the infant 
slung to its mother's back, up to the oldest, including the sick, the lame, 
halt, and blind, so as to include all. When I ran my eyes up the American 
line, grandeur, greatness, and power, occupied my thoughts. When I 
cast them along the Mexican line, nothing but misery and wretchedness 
appeared, and sorrow and pity agitated my breast. I began to regret 
that I had ever come so far to fight such a miserable, pitiful, and worth- 
less people. This scene repaid me for all my sorrows, trials, and 
difficulties. After all the officers on both sides had advanced, and the 
necessary forms of surrender had been gone through with, the whole of 
the Mexicans were ordered to march, which they did, advancing into 
the country, and our army, at the same time, commenced marching 
into the city. They marched slowly, with five or six bands of a choice 
quality accompanying them. 

" At this period I was at a loss how to follow, as Colonel Butler was 
not present. Being unwell, I thought I would play old soldier on Gen 
Scott and all the rest. I was neatly clad in my military habit, with 
polished swoi-d and belt. As the officers passed me, I called up some 
twenty young men, who were well mounted, and asked them if they 
wished to go into the city with the first Americans who entered, and see 
the Mexican ffag go down, and the American flag go up. They said they 
would do anything I ordered to get a-going. I then told them to form 
a line two deep. I took the head ; ordered them to march on, which 
they did — all giving way to us, recognizing us as a guard. I halted in 
the Plaza, which is a long space, with extensive buildings on all sides. 
There I remained till the officers dismounted, and took their seats in 
their respective departments. I then ordered my men to march, took 
them through all the streets, in order to witness the destruction that 
had been effected, and then dismissed them to go to their respective 
quarters." 



352 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Reasons are assigned in this letter why Mr. Eaves and the Palmetto 
regiment were not present at, and did not participate in, the battle of 
Cerro Gordo. 

" We returned from Alvarado," he says, "under a forced march, in 
order to overtake Generals Worth and Twiggs, who had commenced 
their march onward to Mexico. They had a severe fight at Cerro Gordo 
(ju the 17th, 18th, and 19th of April. Wc, under a hurried march, en- 
deavored to be with them ; but the battle ended on Sunday, the 19th, 
and we arrived there on Wednesday, the 22d, following. Gen. Scott 
probably intended that our regiment should remain behind, that it 
might serve as a rear guard, upon which the army might fall back in 
case of necessity. As an evidence of this, after we had taken up the 
line of march, he ordered our regiment to remain at a village some 
seventeen miles from Vera Cruz, and there wait until further orders. 

" I, now having leisure, rode over the entire battle-ground, and so 
horrible a sight 1 never before beheld. Hundreds and hundreds of dead 
Mexicans lay putrifying in the sun — some with their legs, some with 
their arms, and many with their heads, gone. The scene was enough to 
melt with pity the most obdurate heart. I then went to the hospitals. 
There I saw numbers of our men who had lost their limbs — some a leg, 
others an arm, some shot through the body, some through the thigh, 
others through the arm, and others again tin-ough the foot. Many of 
them suffered extreme agony. I went also to see the wounded Mexi- 
cans, where similar spectacles were exhibited, except that our own men 
had to wait on them and feed them, as all the well Mexicans were off, 
being frightened almost out of their lives. There was a marked differ- 
ence between the character of the different hospitals. The Americans 
were cheerful, though suffering much, while the Mexicans were greatly 
depressed and dispiiited. Indulging my curiosity in this way, I could 
usually delay one or two hours, and then catch up with the army." 

In this letter, we have a description, from the pen of Mr. Eaves, of 
the great national road. 

" In reaching this point," he says, " we have passed over the great na- 
tional road leading from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico. It is the 
most splendid work of the kind, probably, to be found in any country. 
It is said to have cost the Spaniards forty millions of dollars! The 
paving is of solid stone all the way over the mountains, being thirty feet 
in width throughout nearly the entire distance, with a wall of cement on 
each side, wherever circumstances require it. The bridges which are 
set over the water- courses are of a style and durability which cannot 
be surpassed in any country in the world." 

Having thus made allusion to this celebrated road, he returns, in his 
narrative, to Cerro Gordo. 

"We marched on from that point to Jalapa, Generals Scott, Worth, 
and others, having taken possession of it before we arrived. Jalapa is 
a large city, abounding with every kind of fruit. It is situated on the 
side of a large hill, so large that it may almost be called a mountain. 
All the streets are paved. We encamped two and a half miles beyond 
the city, on the way to Perote, where we reinained several days. We 
then took up the line of march, intending, as we proceeded, to attack 
that ill-fated place where every tenth man of the Texans who were cap- 



NATHANIEL RIDLET EAVES, OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 35S 

tured by the inhabitants was shot. I saw in the castle there the skulls 
and bones of the Texans thus killed, heaped up in a mound, in the centre 
of which was a cross. Perote is quite a handsome city, situated at the 
foot of several mountains, and near the great perpetual snow-mountain 
called Orizabo. 

" From Perote we marched to this city, Puebla, where we arrived 
on the loth May, after passing through many fine villages. At Anco- 
zoque, twelve miles distant, Santa Anna, lying hid behind some large 
sand-hills, with fifteen thousand men, suffered General Worth to pass 
on without interruption. His object was to attack our division, which 
was enfeebled by disease and forced marches up the mountains, he sup- 
posing that we were a day's march behind Worth ; but in this he was 
mistaken. By pursuing our course with great expedition, night and 
day, we had nearly come up with General Worth's division, who, dis- 
covering that Santa Anna was between him and us, turned upon the old 
fox, and soon put him and his forces to flight. Oar regiment arrived in 
time to form a line of battle. The sight of us coming up precipitated 
their flight. Had we been aware that we were so near the enemy, we 
could have intercepted and captured Santa Anna without failure. At 
this battle, as he called it in his dispatches, he admitted that he had lost 
one hundred and fifty men, but stated, at the same time, that he had 
killed fifty Americans. The truth is, we lost none. 

" We then took up the line of march, with three thousand effective 
men and one thousand sick, together with wagoners and teamsters, 
making in all four thousand. We marched until we got within one mile 
of this city, and halted. Soon after this was done the citizens hoisted 
a white flag. This was the day of the election of President. As we 
passed through the city, they looked voracious enough to eat up our 
little band alive. I tried to make the best observation I could, and I do 
believe, although in this I may err, that there were eighty or a hundred 
thousand Mexicans present on this occasion. We got possession of the 
second finest city in Mexico, and have been stationed here ever since. 

" Puebla is the handsomest city I have seen, in or out of our 
government. It is about two and a half miles long and one and a-half 
wide. The streets are straight, and run parallel with each other. The 
side-walks are all elegantly flagged or paved with hewn stone. It is 
called the "City of Steeples." There are forty -four splendid cathedrals 
in the city, some of which are said to have cost ten millions of dollars. 
There are three hundred resident priests, whose personal appearance 
and dress are somewhat peculiar and worthy of note. They have upon 
their heads a round place from which the hair is shaved, in circumfer- 
ence about the size of an ordinary tin cup. In some the denuded spot 
is smaller. Around the head, an inch above the ears, and up to this 
point and all below, front and rear, the hair is shaven off. ■ At a dis- 
tance, they look as if they had a black belt two inches wide around 
their heads; and, to complete the picture, they have the body part of 
their hats made low and round, apparently to fit their heads close- 
ly. Avith a brim a foot wide, which they bind over the crown in the centre. 
They wear this hat on all occasions lengthwise, front and rear. In 
other respects, their dress is not wholly unlike that of the priestly order 
in Catholic countries. I must defer giving you a description of the 



354 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMEB.ICANS. 

cathedrals, convents, and other public edifices, to another opportunity. 
They are costly, and built on a scale of great magnificence. 

" When Santa Anna made his escape from our troops, he fled to 
Mexico, where he caused himself to be proclaimed president ; but in a 
few days his seat became so uneasy to him, that he called together the 
powders of the government, gave up the national keys, and announced 
his intention to retire to private life or leave the empire. 

" We will march shortly to the city of Mexico, at what time pre- 
cisely I cannot say. Our fates we cannot predict, but our watchword 
is ' Onward, let come what may !' 

"I am in a wonderful country, and cannot understand how a popula- 
tion of eighty thousand souls should allow an army of only three thou- 
sand effective men to take such a populous and magnificent city as 
this. 

" Your's truly, 

" N. R. Eaves." 

The next letter of Mr. Eaves is addressed, like the preceding one, to 
Messrs. Melton and Alexander. It is as follows : 

"San Augustin, Mexico, Ati.g, 30, 1847. 

•' Gentlemen, — I wrote you both by Captain Kennedy. I hope you 
got those letters, as they furnished a detail of facts up to our arrival at 
Puebla. 1 here send you an account of occurrences from that period 
to the present. 

" We left Puebla on the 8th of August, and, after a fatiguing march, 
an-ived at this place on the evening of the 19th inst. The battle of 
Contreras was commenced by the divisions of Generals Pillow and 
Twiggs ; and the New- York and South Carolina regiments, which com- 
posed the second brigade of General Quitman's division, under the 
command of General Shields, were sent to their support. Contreras is 
a strongly -fortified place, situated on a road leading to the city of Mexi- 
co from the west, and about eight or nine miles distant from it. From 
this place our regiment passed through a pathless region of country, 
almost inaccessible, over precipices of rock that appear to have been 
thrown up by some volcanic eruptions, and. through a dense shrubbery, 
with all kinds of cactus, which made it more difficult to pass. Our 
regiment was on the march that night until one o'clock, when a halt 
w^as made at the village of Contrei-as, about one mile above the battle- 
ground, and between it and Mexico. It rained hard all night, which made 
it the most disagreeable night I ever experienced. I was not in the battle 
of Contreras with the regiment, owing to this cause : I had a horse, and 
not being able to ride or to lead him over the precipitous pathway, I 
followed on till 1 quite lost the route of the regiment, and it being very 
dark, I was injured by a fall on a cluster of cactus. Falling in with 
Captain Martin's artillery force, I there remained all night. 

" By daylight in the morning, Colonel Riley, with his regiment of 
lifles, and I with them, charged the enemy. They fled before the charge, 
and were intercepted by the Palmetto regiment, which was situated be- 
tween Fort Contreras and the city of Mexico, about a half mile from 
the fort. The fort, cannon and munitions of war were soon in our pos- 



NATHANIEL RIDLEY EAVES, OF SOUTH CAROLINA. S5o 

session. We captured a hundred and eighty-one Mexicans, and left a 
hundred and twenty dead on the field. Among the prisoners of war 
was General Mendoza, who surrendered his sword to Colonel Butler, 
while the junior officers and soldiers surrendered their swords and guns 
to Captain Dunovant. Captain Marshall was left at this battle-ground 
to guard the cannon and munitions of war, and to take care of the pri- 
soners. During his stay there, he took forty odd prisoners more. Of 
course, he, and those with him, were not in the subsequent battle that 
was fought, which they regretted exceedingly. It is said that the Pal- 
metto regiment displayed a degree of skill and bravery in the battle at 
Contreras unsurpassed by any regiment in the army. 1 joined my 
regiment early that morning, before the close of the battle, and before 
they had prepared to commence their line of march to the subsequent 
battle, that of Churubusco. In this battle, all the officers and soldiers 
of the Chester company were engaged, and won for themselves unfading 
glory." 

Mr. Eaves, while twining round the brows of his companions- in arras 
deserved laurels, omits, with his characteristic modesty, to refer to the 
part which he himself enacted on this occasion, but which, from the 
gallantry and coolness he exhibited, richly deserves notice, and cannot 
be omitted in this connection. Having to take care of the prisoners 
and the wounded, the Palmetto and New-York regiments were delayed 
and prevented from being present in season for the first attacks on 
Churubusco and Tete-de-Pont. They were ordered, on their arrival, to 
make a demonstration back of the forts and the city, where they en- 
countered the rear-guard of Santa Anna's army. The New-York regi- 
ment was in advance of the Palmetto, and, upon the first fire, which 
was very heavy, they recoiled and took shelter behind a hacienda. The 
South Carolina regiment came forward, formed a line, they being the 
left regiment, and Mr. Eaves, being a member of company B., the left 
company of the regiment, was thrown in a position where he could be 
well noticed by all who were engaged. He stepped to the left, and in 
advance of his company some five paces, and there, although exposed to 
a galling fire of seven thousand escapades, by which one-half of the 
Palmetto regiment fell, either killed or wounded, Mr. Eaves, still 
maintaining his self-possession, on each time after discharging his gun, 
would cock it and blow into the muzzle to ascertain if the touch-hole 
was clear and open, and then deliberately re-load and fire. 

The gallant Colonel Butler, who was the mess-mate and bosom com- 
panion of Mr. Eaves, fell at Churubusco. It made quite a change in his 
camp life — a change that he was entirely unprepared for. His servant 
Edmond, who had followed him through the campaign with the greatest 
fidelity, was sick. So it became necessary for the hero of this biogra- 
phy, who has been so properly entitled "the little warrior," to mess about 
with his companions without any definite place for shelter. But his 
position was a proof of how much he had endeared himself to each 
member of the regiment and other officers of the army, for all claimed 
him as their friend, and were anxious to prove the fact by giving him 
the largest share of their scanty meals. Eventually he became the 
mess-mate of the oflFicers of the Chester company. They were proud 
that he had cast his lot among them instead of choosing for his com- 



356 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

pantons those who were higher in office and who had intreated him to 
partake of their fare. 

On the 13th of September, he was at the charge on Chapultepec. 
The hill and castle are surrounded by low, flat grounds, with deep 
ditches made there for the douVjle purpose of defence to the castle and 
irrigation of the tillable lands. They are so deep that the soldiers 
could only pass through them with the aid of each other. It was his 
misfortune to be in one of the deepest of these ditches until his com- 
panions, who had passed through by his assistance, were all on the flat 
lands. Forgetting that they had left him in this position, they advanced 
at double cjuick time. He strove to climb the bank, but all his efflDrts 
were vain. He then commenced wading through the mud and water, 
hoping by some chance to gain his regiment again. Discoveiing some 
soldiers of another regiment who had deposited themselves there for 
safe-keeping, he told them that " they were cowards, and unwoithy the 
name of American soldiers," and commanded them to assist him out 
of his difficulty. But they were so panic-struck that they threw him 
out on the wrong side, when he had the mortification to see his regi- 
ment approaching the wall at the base of the hill beneath the enemy's 
batteries. There he stood a target for a thousand escapades, yet re- 
solved to die fighting. It w-as at this time and place that, as he raised 
his head to aim his musket at some one whom he tliought worthy of 
being shot by him, a ball struck the palmetto on his cap, and passed 
through, slightly grazing his head and tearing private papers which he 
had placed in his cap for safe-keeping. 

When the reg-iment arrived beneath the wall and were secure from 
the enemy's fire until a breach could be made in it through which to 
pass, Mr. Eaves' perilous position was seen by all. He was not able 
to proceed, and was too brave to occupy that much detested ditch, 
which seemed to defeat his dearest purpose, to live or die with his regi- 
ment. But he was no sooner seen than some of his brave companions 
volunteered to bring him to the regiment or perish with him — a pur- 
pose which they triumphantly accomplished, but not until he was twice 
wounded and his clothes much torn. He reached his regiment just as 
the breach in the wall was made sufficiently low to be scaled, and 
being assisted by his companions, he was in their eagerness literally 
thrown over, being among the first to enter. Regaining his feet, he 
seized the Palmetto flag, mounted the clifl^, rushed up through the castle, 
where, having first assisted to run up the American flag, he mounted 
the parapet, and with his gun in one hand and his regimental banner in 
the other, he stood conspicuous, waving it with the oft-repeated excla- 
mation, " Hurra for South Carolina !" The cheering was not confined 
to his regiment alone, but all who saw it with one impulse joined in a 
long and loud huzza for the flag and the gallant spirit who bore it! 

But the glories of that day were not yet ended. There were other 
glories to be yet achieved by that gallant army before the sun had set. 
Scarcely had the army realized the fact that the castle was theirs, when 
they were ordered to advance along the aqueducts, in order to charge 
the forts and take possession of the city of Mexico, which lay about one 
league distant. The gallant Quitman, who commanded the division 
against the Garita de Belen, to effect his object with the more certainty 



NATHANIEL RIDLEY EAVES, OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 35*1 



put a rifle and a musket alternately, that whilst the latter was making 
the charge the former might act as sharp-shooters to take the enemy 
from their cannon. The promptness and decision with which the com- 
mander's orders were executed soon rendered victory complete, and the 
Palmetto banner floated triumphantly in the cily of Mexico two hours 
in advance of any other American standard. (See General Quitman's 
Report.) In this engagement Mr. Eaves acted with his accustomed 
coolness and intrepidity. His conduct was observed by Gen. Quitman, 
who exclaimed, "See little Eaves, — how cool he is; as though he were 
shooting at snipes !" 

When the division entered the city, it was impossible to get the 
heavy American cannon of Captain Drum's command over the high and 
well ditched fortifications of the Garita de Belen ; but there was a piece 
of artillery within the breastworks, placed in such a situation that the 
Mexicans could not get it out. Drum had but few soldiers with him, 
and he called upon some of the Palmetto regiment to assist him. There 
were two companies of the Pennsylvania regiment and the rifle regi- 
ment present. Upon the call being made upon the Palmetto regiment, 
Mr. Eaves and several others obeyed the call, and assisted in adjusting 
the piece, and turning it upon the enemy, continued to man the piece 
until the ammunition was exhausted. Drum, putting his hand on the 
shoulder of Eaves, exclaimed, " We have given it to them !" and after 
leaving the cannon two or three paces, was shot in two !" 

After the entrance of the army into the city of Mexico, Mr. Eaves 
found many occasions for the exercise of his feelings of humanity and 
generosity. Hundreds of the wounded Mexicans lay in the streets, 
neglected by their countrymen and exposed to all the anguish of their 
sufferings without the kindly ministrations of a friend, or even the com- 
fort of a shelter from the w^eather. As these instances would fall under 
his observation he would set about the relieving of their condition, a 
work in which he would often draw liberally on his own purse. In 
other instances he would, assuming an air of authority, compel the 
heartless citizens, who carelessly passed by their suffering fellows, to 
remove them into houses and provide for their necessities. 

The same promptings of generosity influenced his conduct towards 
his companions in arms. The sick found in him an attentive and 
watchful friend, who would suffer them to want for nothing which 
money could purchase. His purse was, indeed, at all times open to the 
drafts of his companions, and no one ever found his necessities disre- 
garded. To various members of his regiment he liberally supplied the 
means of returning to their friends and their country, and that, too, very 
often without the prospect of being repaid. 

It was the intention of Mr. Eaves, when he left South Carolina, to 
return home in season to perform the duties that devolved on him as 
senator at the ensuing session of the general assembly. The war was 
now, in fact, ended. All the fighting that was to be done was over, 
and there was nothing, so flir as the honor of his country was concerned, 
to detain him longer in Mexico. He accordingly applied, soon after 
ihe entrance into the city, for leave of absence for six months, which, 
in consideration of the circumstances, was readily granted, and he was 
honorably discharged. 



358 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS, 

The following are the documents connected with his discharge : 

" City of Mexico, October 26, 1847. 
"To Capt. H. L. Scott, A. A. A. General. 

" Sir : — I have the honor to request a furlough for six months, 
to enable me to return home to discharge the duties of my civil office, 
being Senator from Chester District, South Carolina. The legislature 
of that state convenes on the 4th Monday in November next, and it is 
important that I should be there as early as practicable. 

" N. R. Eaves, Private Co. B. 

" Palmetto Regiment.^'' 

" I certify that private N. R. Eaves is the State Senator from Chester 
District, South Carolina ; that he has been doing duty in my company, 
and was pi-esent, fighting valiantly, in all the battles fought in the valley 
of Mexico, (except at Molino del Rey, in which the Palmetto Regi- 
ment was not engaged,) and that he behaved with credit and distinction 
to himself, having been slightly wounded in four places. I therefore 
respectfully recommend that his request be granted. 

" R. G. M. DuNovANT, Capt. Co. B. 

" ^S*. C. Volunteers." 
" Approved. 

'" A. H. Gladden, Major Com. Pal. Peg. S. C. V. 
"City of Mexico, October 26, 1847." 

" Respectfully referred and recommended. 

"Saml. E. Watson, Lt. Com. First Brig. V. Z>." 

" City of Mexico, October 26, 1847. 
" To Capt. H. L. Scott, A. A. A. General. 

" It is due to N. R. Eaves, private in Company B., Palmetto Regi- 
ment, S. C. v., to state that he is the State Senator from Chester Dis- 
trict, and whilst discharging his duties at Columbia, S. C, in that 
office, a call was made by the Secretary of War upon the state for one 
regiment of volunteers, to serve during the war with Mexico. He left 
his seat in the Senate, and promptly repaired to his district and enrolled 
his name as a private. 

" From the high position he occupied, and the patriotic motives that 
induced him to volunteer, the field-officers were induced to place in his 
hands the $20,000 appropriated by the state and placed at their dispo- 
sal. He has therefore acted in the capacity of paymaster to the regi- 
ment. As that fund is now nearly exhausted, and feeling disinclined 
to see him shoulder his musket, the call for his civil services induces 
mc respectfully to request that his petition be granted. He has been 
in all the battles fought in the valley of Mexico in which his regiment 
participated. On these occasions, he shouldered his musket, and 
behaved with great gallantry and bravery. 
" Very respectfully, 

" A. H. Gladden, Major Pal. Reg. S. C. F." 

" I have known Major Eaves since his arrival at Lobos, and found him 
always attentive to his duty, and at all times ready for any service. 

" D. E. Twiggs, Br. Gen. U. S. A.' 



NATHANIEL RIDLEY EAVES, OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 359 

" I have commanded the Palmetto Regiment at all the battles fought 
in the valley of Mexico, and can vouch for the bravery and gallantry of 
Major Eaves m all those battles, as well as for his good conduct on all 
occasions. 

" James Shields, Brig. Gen.'''' 

" Respectfully referred and recommended. 

"Saml. E. Watson, Lt. Col. Com. \st Brig. Vol. 2>iv." 

"Recommended by 

'• J. A. Quitman. Maj. Gen.'' 
" Honorably discharged, 

" By command of Major-General Scott." 

" H. L. Scott, A. A. A. General." 

" Head-quarters of the Army., October 26, 1847." 

"National Palace, Mexico, October 28, 1847. 
" Major Eaves, — Sir : — Allow me to take the liberty, now that you 
are about to leave for your native land, to present to you my heart- 
felt regret at your departure. 

" A companion and soldier, one who has shared all the perils and 
fatigues of this campaign, cheerful under every sky, and foremost in 
every engagement! 1 am certain, sir, you have nobly represented 
your district and state, and I trust a grateful country will respect your 
patriotic disposition. 

" With great respect, 

" Your friend and servant, 

" N. J. Walker, Ca2Jt. Co. K, S. C. F." 

Shortly after receiving his discharge, Mr. Eaves embarked for South 
Carolina, via New-Orleans. Upon his arrival in Columbia, at night, a 
torchlight procession was formed, and he was conducted through 
the city in triumph. The legislature being then in session, the Senate, 
of which he was a member, adopted, on the next day, a report and 
resolutions highly complimentary to him. The following is the report 
of the Senate conmiittee to whom were referred the documents and 
correspondence connected with his discharge: 

"The Committee on the Military and Pensions, to which was refer- 
red certain documents in relation to the Honorable N. R. Eaves, sub- 
mits the following report ■. 

" The committee have given the subject referred due deliberation. 
The documents show, that in December last, the Honorable N. R. 
Eaves was the Senator in the present General Assembly from Chester 
District; which fact comes within the knowledge of your committee, 
and of the whole Senate: that he united himself as a private in the 
company of the Palmetto Regiment raised in Chester, his native dis- 
trict,* and, although in affluent circumstances, and arrived to an age 
when military service is not required by law, he cheerfully submitted 



* In thi^ the committee were in error. As already stated, Mr. Eaves was 
a native of Virginia. — Ed. 



350 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

to all the privations and dangers of a perilous and harrassing campaign. 
He was entrusted with the responsible duty of disbursing the appropri- 
ation of twenty thousand dollars, made by this state for the use of the 
Palmetto Regiment, and from this and other considerations, service in 
the ranks was not exacted. Voluntarily and from his own impulsive 
and chivalrous nature, he shouldered his musket and fought in the ranks 
as a private, in every battle in which his regiment was engaged in 
Mexico. At Vera Cruz, at Contreras, at the bloody fields of Churu- 
busco, Chapultepec, and the Garita, he was found in the front rank, 
leading on the advance, cool, collected and brave. 

" Such patriotic devotion in one of its own members deserves the 
special notice of this Senate. 

" Your committee recommend that the documents referred be entered 
on the journals of the Senate, as a tribute of regard for patriotism and 
public virtue. 

" Respectflilly submitted, 

" John Buchanan, Chairman.'''' 

When the venerable president of the Senate, Angus Patterson, 
rose to read the resolutions, the Senate chamber was crowded to 
the utmost extent of its capacity. The scene was an exceedingly inter- 
esting one. Mr. Eaves, anxious to take his seat in the Senate cham- 
ber, was, as we have seen, one among the first to return from Mexico 
after the war was over ; and his presence again in the Senate chamber, 
after an arduous and glorious campaign in a foreign land, in which the 
chivalry of the state was triumphantly vindicated by the Palmettoes, 
coupled also with the mournful reflection that the blood of a Butler, a 
Dickinson, and a host of others equally patriotic, had sealed their devo- 
tion to their beloved state, altogether produced an excitement, and gave 
rise to emotions of no ordinary character. 

Mr. Eaves responded in terms very graceful and delicate. " He 
thanked the Senate," he said, "for the very cordial manner in which he 
had been welcomed again to his seat in that body. After the hard 
campaign, in which the American troops had been engaged, to be thus 
met on their return to their native land, was grateful to that sensibility 
so natural on such an occasion. In entering the service of his country, 
he had done what he conceived to be his duty. A call had been made 
by the Federal Government upon the State of South Carolina for 
a'regiment to be engaged for the war. He regarded the honor of the 
state as involved, and that the call should be responded to promptly. 
The state had been traduced, and we had been jeered as par excellence 
' the chivalry.' When the opportunity therefore was presented to her 
people to vindicate their title to the just renown emblazoned on 
the pages of their history, it found him ready. The promptitude with 
which the call was met, was in the remembrance of all. How the Pal- 
metto Regiment performed its duty, history will tell. Its decimated 
ranks and orphan condition told a tale more eloquent than anything he 
could say. He left it to others to fill up that picture which would 
sparkle amid the lustre of those achievements which adorn our history." 
He concluded by again thanking the Senate for the kindness they had 
manifested towards him. 



NATHANIEL RIDLEY EAVES, OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 3Gl 

Mr. Eaves had then to encounter a storm of congratulations from his 
surrounding friends, which was equal in intensity to that which he 
faced at Churubusco, though of a far different and more agreeable kind. 

His excellency, Governor Johnson, was among the first of his dis- 
tinguished friends to welcome him on his return. The following note 
was addressed to him by that high functionary on the occasion: 

" My Dear Major, — Welcome, thrice welcome back to us! I want 
to see you much ; but I learn that you are so surrounded by inquiring 
friends, that I fear there is no hope of having that quiet communion with 
you that I wish to-night. How are you? How are your gallant com- 
panions ? Where are they ? 

" Very sincerely, 

" David Johnson. 
" United States Hotel, Monday Evening.'''' 

The wai'm reception which this brave man met with from his excel- 
lency, the governor, and from the legislature, was not more gratifying 
to his feelings than that which awaited him from the people at large. 
His entire career in Mexico was known to all and applauded by all. 
From the mountains to the sea-board there was but one sentiment felt 
and expressed as to his merit. But nowhere was his welcome more 
cordial and enthusiastic than in the district he represented, old Chester. 
He had performed bis duty nobly, and the state was not only delighted 
to see him return, unscathed by the numberless perils through which he 
had passed, but seemed desirous to evince their gratitude and admira- 
tion by bestowing upon him some signal honor, as a reward for his ser- 
vices. He was accordingly, in various sections of the state, almost 
simultaneously, on his arrival home, nominated by the press for the 
office of governor; and there can be but little doubt, if the election had 
come on when the popular enthusiasm was at its height, that he would 
have been elected to the office by an overwhelming vote ; and there 
can be as little doubt, that had he been elected when the contest 
did come on, his practical good sense and executive abilities w^ould 
have qualified him to discharge the duties of the gubernatorial function 
to the entire satisfaction of the people of the state. The relations which 
the South then sustained to the Federal Government were of a delicate 
nature, and wore a threatening aspect; and there were those who feared 
that the impetuosity of Mr. Eaves' temperament unfitted him for the 
crisis. Others, again, were influenced by an aversion, common to the 
people of the state, of bestowing the gubernatorial office as a reward for 
military services. 

That his election was anticipated and desired by the whole body of 
the Palmetto Regiment, then in Mexico, is evident from the tenor 
of the following letters, with the introduction of which we shall close 
this rather prolix narrative: 

"San Angel, Mexico, January 13, 1848. 

"My Dear Friend: — I had thought you would have written me be- 
fore this, but I suppose you are determined to treat me with the same 
inditlerence that my other friends do. 

•' 1 am told that you met with a cordial and warm reception at home 



362 SKBTCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

and that every body was glad to see you. You richly deserve to be 
esteemed and honored by your whole country for the gallant services 
rendered by you on the laattle-fields, and I hope that your name will be 
handed down to posterity as one of the heroes of Churubusco, and 
Chapultepec and Garita. The boys frequently talk about you, and re- 
gret that your civil duties called you away from among us. They 
frequently ask me if I think the state will recompense you for your 
trials and sufferings, by making you governor, or sending you to Con- 
gress. 1 tell them that I think she will. * * * * 

" I remain, very respectfully, 

" R. G. M. DUNOVANT." 

The above letter, it will be seen, was written by Captain Dunovant, 
from Mexico, shortly after Mr. Eaves arrived in South Carolina. The 
following, from Lieutenant Walker, was written about three months 
later : 

" San Angel, Mexico, 2lst March, 1848. 
" Dear Major, — I am just contemplating and trying to fathom how 
many honors you have, how many you have received, and how many 
more you are entitled to receive. We hear some news in regard to 
you occasionally, and it is quite good, to be sure, but I think they seem 
to be rather slow in awarding honors in a manner to be felt as lasting 
and important to one who has devoted so much of his time to the best 
interests of his district; one who, when the call of his countiy was 
heard, was ready to throw off honor, w^ealth, and ease, to engage in the 
capacity of a soldier, and who, in the short space of twelve months or 
less, has passed, with distinction, through four of the bloodiest battles 
on record. If services like these do not entitle a man to the highest 
gift in the state, what can he do to entitle him to such honors 1 To this 
1 can only answer, that it is perhaps requisite that he be a representa- 
tive of the lower part of the state. 

"When your friends speak of you why do they not do it with more 
energy, with more zeal, and speak to be understood ? Yet there are 
some omens of good, and one of the strongest of these is, that we do 
not hear you spoken of for the governorship in one or two districts, but 
it conies in letters from every district in the state, and all that is wanting 
is more heat. In all probability there is enough of that at home, though 
not sufficient to satisfy your friends here. 

" The boys are all well and in good spirits, but we miss you very 
much. The days and nights are tolerably long at times, and if we had 
your company it would be a great assistance in making time glide by. 
I wish, if there is no hope of our getting home soon, that you would 
keep the young ladies from marrying until we do return; and also in- 
form us, by some means, what you are doing with them for us. But 
I must inform you of a slander that Major Mat. has put out on you. 
He says you are trying to marry yourself, and if that is the case I fear 
you will not do much for your friends. How is it ? And, by the 
way, I should like to have you write, for you best know just what 
would please us. 

********** 



NATHANIEL RIDLEY EAVES, OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 363 



"Captain Brooks says, 'By Ned, Eaves shall be governor!' He 
sends his best respects to you. Major Dunovant ditto, and all the 
boys unite in sending their best wishes to you. 

" Your obedient servant, 

"J. T. Walker." 

We find amoncr the numerous documents connected with Mr. Eaves, 
campaign in Mexico, a seiies of letters in relation to a certificate of 
merit to which he was entitled, but which, having not been filed in the 
office of the secretary of war, or if placed there, having been lost or 
mislaid, has unfortunately, up to this time, not been recovered. The 
facts are briefly these : General Scott, after the battles in Mexico, issued 
an order directing the captains of com2:)anies each to report two soldiers 
of his company who were most worthy of distinction. In accordance 
with this order Captain Dunovant, of company B., Palmetto regiment, 
reported Mr. Eaves to General Quitman, as having especially distin- 
guished himself during the campaign, and General Quitman, as is sup- 
posed, reported him in like manner to General Scott. But Mr. Eaves 
having left Mexico before the army was disbanded did not receive his 
certificate of merit. Considering himself, however, as entitled to it, he 
made application for it through his friends, supposing that a copy of it 
would be found on file in the office of the secretary of war. 

Among those friends who interested themselves in this matter was 
Lieutenant D. D. Baker, of the marines, in service in Mexico, a gallant 
officer, who was promoted to a captaincy after the battle of Chapultepec. 
We have from hira the following letter : 

"Portsmouth, N. H., Feb. 15, 1848. 
"My Dear Old Soldier, — I was in Washington a few days ago, and 
made inquiries at the office of the adjutant-general for your certificate 
of merit, but was informed it had not been received at that office. I 
have no doubt it will be forthcoming in due time. It gave me great 
satisfaction to hear from you, both on the account of your good health 
and also the flattering manner in which your fellow-citizens received 
you on your arrival home. I am sure that nothing in the way of notice 
can equal your merits, for a more gallant and devoted soldier on the 
field I never saw. I send you herewith a note from the office of the 
adjutant-genera], about your certificate of merit. 

" Believe me to be your friend and fellow-soldier, 

" D. D. Baker." 

The following is the note from the adjutant-general, referred to in 
the above letter of Captain Baker : 

" Adjutant-General's Office, 

" Washington, July 19, 1848. 
" Dear Sir, — In returning herewith the letter of Mr. Eaves, I respect- 
fully inform you that not a single recommendation in favor of volunteers 
for certificates of merit, under the 7th section of the act of March 3, 
1847, has been received at this office. The orders of Major-General 
Scott, alluded to by Mr. Eaves, have been referred to, and are such as 



o 



64 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



he represents, but what action, if any, was taken under them, I regret 
my inability to say. The law referred to, I had supposed, did not em- 
brace the volunteer service. For, if otherwise, it would present the 
incongruity of one of the subalterns of a company of volunteers receiv- 
ing his commission from the president of the United States, while the 
others, the captains and field-officers, derive their commissions from 
the governor of the state. 

" I am, dear sir, very respectfully, 

" Your obedient servant, 

" R. Jones." 

There are numerous others letters of correspondence on this subject, 
which are omitted. It is certain that the order of General Scott to 
the captains of companies, volunteers as ivell as regulars, to report 
those who had, in their respective companies, most signally distin- 
guished themselves, was promptly obeyed by the captain of the com- 
pany to which Mr. Eaves was attached, and that he was singled out 
and reported as being the most worthy of the certificate of merit. To 
the soldier nothing is dearer than his honor, and nothing more gratify- 
ing to his feelings than the having his merit duly recognized and ac- 
knowledged, and it is much to be regretted that, so richly deserving 
the meed of praise awarded him, he has been unable to obtain its formal 
acknowledgment in a "certificate of merit." 

We are happy to find that the opinion we expressed, in the earlier part 
of this sketch, of the legal character and attainments of Mr. Eives is 
fully sustained by the opinions of a gentleman of great worth, who has 
long known him intimately. 

" The success," he says, '' which has attended him in the practice of 
his profession has been far beyond that which ordinarily fiills to the lot 
of those who have made the law their study. Without having a high 
reputation as a learned lawyer, he nevertheless, by the assiduity and 
perseverance with which he managed every case entrusted to him, se- 
cured a lucrative practice. Men who entertained no very exalted opi- 
nion of his legal attainments were willing to entrust their interests with 
him, knowing that, if anything would be made in the progress of the 
cause, his diligence and untiring efforts would be sure to accomplish it. 
Like a cork on the water, if put down in one place, he would be certain 
to rise in an another. His success, in a great measure, is to be attributed 
to the extraordinary industry and untiring devotion he invariably 
brought to the man-agement of every cause in which he has been en- 
gaged, no matter how unimportant it may be. Slow to announce an 
opinion at first, he would, when engaged in the cause, apply the whole 
powers of his mind to its thorough examination, and never rest until he 
had completely mastered it. His great knowledge of human nature 
has enabled him to command success where other men would have 
failed. The precise adaptation of the means to the end has secured him 
many triumphs. Oftentimes, in cases of great doubt and difficulty, 
when the law's delay would have given him time, he seldom failed, at 
the last moment, to seize upon and present something that would be de- 
cisive of the issue. If he could not carry his point by a co^ip de main. 
he was very certain to do so by slow and regular advances." 



NATHANIEL RIDLEY EAVES, OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 365 

Another friend, who knew him equallj? well, having pursued his legal 
studies under his direction, and who is every way competent to judge, 
says of him : "Mr. Eaves is not so much to be judged by his conver- 
sational talents, his forensic powers, or his skill as a writer, as by the 
happy adaptation of himself to the circumstances under which he has 
passed his entire career." 

Mr. Eaves was never married ; but one of the most pleasing traits in 
his character is its tenderness, liberality, and gallantry, to the fair and 
better sex, particularly to the widow and orphan, and to those who are 
in any kind of distress. 

No man is more consistent in his friendships. Once a friend he is 
always one — never abandoning an acquaintance so long as he retains 
merit, and often adhering to him even after others have forsaken him. 

With all his wealth and success at the bar, he is free from pride and 
an aristocratic temper, being equally the friend of the poor and the rich, 
and disposed to treat all with justice and humanity, without regard to 
their station. If he has his partialities, they lean, and justly, too, rather 
to the side of the feeble and unfortunate than to that of the strong and 
prosperous. He is especially kind to those who are indebted to him, 
and against whom he has claims of a long standing. He prefers aban- 
doning the claim and releasing the debtor, to subjecting him to distress 
and inconvenience. If he were to meet an old acquaintance in China in 
destitute circumstances, he would greet him with cordiality, and relieve 
his necessities. Notwithstanding his remarkable generosity, he has ac- 
cumulated a large fortune by his industry, which he does not hoard up, 
but devotes to useful ends and public improvements, particularly to the 
improvement of the place where he lives, with whose interests and pros- 
perity he is so closely identified, that to destroy him would be to de- 
stroy the very elements of the society around him, of which he forms 
the soul and centre. But he is not known only at home flivorably. 
There is scarcely an individual in the state to whom his name is not fa- 
miliar ; and he could not go into any village or town in South Carolina 
where his presence would not be welcomed with cordiality. 

Upon the whole, Mr. Eaves, if not a great man, is a useful one. 
What he lacks in genius is better supplied by common sense — want of 
a knowledge of books, by a knowledge of the world, and by a shrewd 
insight into the springs of human action. A man that has succeeded as 
he has done must be judged by results ; and judged by that rule he 
must, as he does, possess moral and intellectual worth. Rich in wealth, 
he is far more rich in honor and integrity. He has the simplicity of a 
child and the boldness of a lion. He is a man of undoubted courage 
and a keen sense of honor. Nothing would induce him to do a mean 
action. In fine, we shall sum up all his good qualities by affirniing that 
he is a/t honest 7na)i, and that he is fairly entitled, in the judgment of his 
cotemporaries, to that patent of nobility to which the poet refers wheia 
he says : 

" An honest man's the noblest work of God." 




-i ' i-y 



MOE^o (CMAIfiLJE § FoK"IEITJHr< 
of T&jzii&sse^.' 

ONK OF THE JUDGES OF TSE CIRCUIT COURT. 



En^ far ^ioijraphicaZfSJiiatchjiS of Eminent .^nuricanA^ 



I 



HON. CHARLES F. KEITH, 

OF TENNESSEE; 

The paternal grandfather of the subject of this memoir was a native 
of Scotland. After the fall of the House of Stuart, to which dynasty he 
was devotedly attached, his estates were confiscated, and he emigrated 
to the North American Colonies and settled in Fauquier county, Vir- 
ginia, where he was for many years an eminent minister of the Episco- 
pal Church. Shortly after his arrival in America he married Miss Mary 
Isham Randolph, a lady remarkable for strength of character, high lite- 
rary attainments and deep piety. They had a large family of children, 
from whom have descended some of the most illustrious men of Vir- 
ginia. Their second daughter married Colonel Marshall, and was the 
mother of the late lamented Chief Justice of that name. Their third son, 
Alexander Keith, the father of the present Judge, was for several years 
an officer in the Revolutionary Army, and took an active part in our 
struggle for independence. About the close of the war, being then a 
widower, he married Mrs. Thornton, formerly Miss Galihue, and took 
up his home in his native county of Fauquier. Here they resided for 
several years, and raised a large and respectable family. Their second 
son, Charles Fleming, was born on the 22d day of November, 1784, 
and in 1799, he removed with his father and family to Tennessee, 
which had only a few years previously been admitted as one of the 
States of the Union. Amid the wild and romantic scenery of that new 
and flourishing commonwealth, he acquired a vigor of constitution and 
a manly reliance on his own energies, which prepared him for the per- 
formance of the arduous duties his country was to impose upon him in 
after life. 

Tn 1802, he returned to Virginia and commenced the study of law, 
at the early age of eighteen years, with his friend and relative Charles 
Marshall, a brother of the Chief Justice, and at that time a prominent 
member of the bar at Warrenton. He applied himself assiduously to 
the study of that abstruse science, and under the direction of his able 
instructor, acquired a profound knowledge of the elementary principles 
of the law. He resided for two years in the family of Mr, Marshall, 
and the kindness and attention shown him by that worthy gentleman 
and his most excellent lady, were highly appreciated by him, and to 
this day he recurs with the greatest pleasure to the time passed under 
their hospitable roof. He has, indeed, always considered, that he was 
extremely fortunate in preparing himself for the active duties of his 
profession in the office of such an accomplished gentleman and able 
jurist, and one who devoted so much time and attention in assisting 
hitn to acquire a knowledge of the practice as well as of the theory of 
the law. 

It may be well questioned whether a young man, who has a finished 
education, can select any place better calculated to prepare himself for 
a successful entrance upon the duties and responsibilities of the legal 



368 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

profession, than the office of a lawyer in full practice, who will make 
him his companion, hold frequent converse with him on legal subjects, 
cause him to investigate cases and transcribe pleadings, and who will 
direct with care all his studies, both literary and professional, and watch 
with interest over the development of his moral and intellectual char- 
acter. The misfortune is that lawyers will very rarely take it upon 
themselves to act in this manner towards their students, and indeed it 
but seldom happens that it is possible for them to do so. Hence young 
men of fortune most generally prefer to seek a law-school to prepare 
themselves for the practice of this profession ; but while they find there 
many advantages which a lawyer's office does not afford, and many 
motives to arouse their energies and stimulate their exertions which 
solitary labor does not excite, yet they have many dangers to encoun- 
ter, and are apt to form inadequate ideas of the responsibilities that 
await them, and to think, when they get their license, they can enter at 
once with eclat and without difficulty upon a successful practice. It not 
unfrequently happens, therefore, that, when thrown into active life, 
they become discouraged at the fearful and severe ordeal through which 
they are required to pass, and consequently resign their profession with 
all its expected honors and emoluments, and betake themselves to some 
other occupation. Fortunately, however, for our country and the profes 
sion, the system of Moot Courts, which is so well adrpted to prepare a 
young man to become a practical and efficient jurist, is beginning to 
assume a prominent position in all our law-schools, and, if properly en- 
forced and adhered to, will make them what they ought to be, the ves- 
tibule, as it were, through which every one should be required to pass 
before he can be permitted to enter that grand and magnificent edifice, 
the temple of the Law, where the rights and liberties of the people are 
investigated and decided. 

This is a topic which would aflTord abundant material for an extended 
article, but we must return to the subject of our memoir, one of whose 
fellow-students, during his residence in Warrenton, was Richard A. 
Buckner, a young man of accomplished manners and brilliant genius, 
and who has filled with distinction high political and judicial offices in 
Kentucky, his adopted state. 

In 1804, Mr. Keith returned to Tennessee, but being too young to 
be admitted to the bar, he again visited his friends in Virginia, and after 
devoting several months to the study of his profession, returned home 
and commenced the practice of law in 1805, in Jefferson and the adjoin- 
ing counties, where he obtained an extensive and lucrative business. 
The legal profession in East Tennessee at that time combined as much 
talent as has ever been possessed by any portion of the state. It 
ranked among its members such names as White, Whiteside, Scott, 
Trimble and others ; men M'ho have filled some of the highest offices 
in the gift of the nation. It was among such men as these, able and 
profound jurists, that Mr. Keith first entered upon the practice of the 
law, but he applied himself with diligence and energy to the labors of 
his profession, and notwithstanding this brilliant array of talent that 
challenged the homage and admiration of the people, he received a full 
share of the business in all the courts he attended. 

In 1809, his father removed with his family to the State of Mississippi, 



CHARLES F. KEITH, OF TENNESSEE. 369 

and Charles expected to follow after him durhig the next year, but 
meeting with Miss Elizabeth Douglass, daughter of Philip Hale, who 
emigrated at a very early period from Virginia and settled on the Nolo- 
chucky River, in what is now Greene county, Tennessee, he became 
enamored of her charms, and was married to her on the 31st day of 
October, 1811. Were it not for extending this article to an inordinate 
length it would be interesting to give an account of the ancestors of this 
amiable lady ; they were originally from Scotland, and their numerous 
descendants are now scattered throughout the States of Virginia, Ken- 
tucky and Tennessee. 

After his marriage, Mr. K. continued to reside in Jefferson county, 
and acquired great reputation in his profession, to which he applied 
himself most assiduously until the year 1817, when he became a candi- 
date for a seat in the Senate of his state legislature. 

It was at a time when federal politics had but little to do with state 
elections ; parties were not organized as at the present day, and each 
candidate had to rely for success alone upon his personal address and the 
manner in which he acted with respect to the local questions of the 
country. After an animated contest with a gentleman of high respec- 
tability, and great personal popularity, Mr. K. was elected, and took 
his seat in the Senate in the fall of 1817. 

The life of a legislator has but very little of interest attached to it, 
when he is merely pursuing the ordinary routine of business, and his 
time is occupied in attending to the private and local interests of his 
constituents, and when no great questions are presented for discus- 
sion and determination which excite the public mind, and call forth the 
talent and energy of the representatives from different portions of the state. 

Such was the position of our new senator. We shall consequently 
pass over the first session of his political life, remarking that the best 
commentary we can make upon the fidelity with which he represented 
the interests of his constituents, consists in a simple statement of the 
fact, that at the next session of the legislature, two years afterwards, he 
was returned to his seat in the Senate without opposition. 

That session was one of great interest on many accounts. By the 
treaties of 1817 and 1819 the Cherokee tribe of Indians had ceded to 
the United States a large and beautiful tract of country, a portion of 
which was afterwards laid off and called the Hiwassee District. The 
benefit of this purchase, to a certain extent, was given by compact with 
the General Government to the State of Tennessee, and the question 
arose at this session of the legislature as to the manner in which the 
lands should be appropriated. 

A special committee was raised to consider of that important sub- 
ject, and after much deliberation they reported to the Senate a bill 
providing for the exigencies of the case. But the measure proposed by 
the committee was not acceptable to the Senate, and Mr. K. was allowed 
to withdraw the bill for amendment. 

Taking for his model the plan introduced by Mr. Jefferson in the 
Continental Congress in 1784, and subsequently modified at the sugges- 
tion of Messrs. Monroe and Grayson, delegates from Virginia in 1785, 
cf laying off the counties into townships of six miles square, and sub 

24 



370 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

dividing those into sections and quarter sections, he prepared a different 
bill, more conformable to the wishes of the Senate, as manifested by the 
debates, and offered it in lieu of the one reported by the committee. 
This was a new feature in the legislative history of Tennessee ; but, 
after the most mature reflection, the substitute was adopted by the Se- 
nate without any material alteration. 

It may be proper here to state, that the Hon. Thomas L. Williams, 
the present distinguished Chancellor of the Eastern Division of the 
State of Tennessee, was a member of the legislature at that time, and 
performed a conspicuous part in the passage of this law. Upon many 
other important occasions his capacious intellect devised measures of 
policy for the government of the state which have redounded greatly to 
the honor and happiness of his countrymen. 

He was an early and fast friend of the able jurist whose character 
forms the subject of this imperfect sketch, and that friendship, in their 
frequent intercourse in life, has been unbroken through a series of years, 
and now forms for them a source of comfort and pleasure as they are 
passing off the stage of action, full of years and full of honors. 

Experience has shown the wisdom of the plan adopted by the legis- 
lature, in 1819, for appropriating lands and defining their boundaries; 
and the State of Tennessee again gave her sanction to it by the Act of 
1837-8, by disposing of the lands in the Ocoee District which had been 
purchased by the treaty of 1835 from the same tribe of Indians. 

It is almost impossible, where lands have been thus surveyed and 
sectioned, for litigation to arise in relation to the true boundaries of 
adjacent tracts. Hence, in the Hiwassee and Ocoee Districts the ab- 
struse learning relative to " ancient boundaries and landmarks" has 
been very rarely called into i-equisition, and has given the legal profes- 
sion but few fees and but little trouble. In other portions of the state, 
however, where lands were differently appropriated, and each person 
was permitted to make his location of almost any size or shape that he 
desired, and to run the lines in any direction that might suit his fancy, 
innumerable disputes have arisen, and continue to rise, between the 
owners of adjacent lands, and endless controversy and litigation have 
resulted therefrom. 

This is an evil which cannot now be remedied ; but the country owes 
it, in a great measure, to the subject of this memoir, that all that beau- 
tiful country reclaimed from the Indians by the treaties of 1819 and 
1835, was not subjected to a similar calamity. 

At the same session of the legislature, the statute of limitations to 
real estate formed a fruitful topic for debate and controversy. The act 
of 1715, and that of 1797, explanatory of it, had given much dissatis- 
faction to the country, and the greatest diversity of opinion existed, 
both on the bench and amongst the members of the bar, in relation to 
the construction to be given to these acts. Many bitter hostilities ori- 
ginated from the controversies arising out of these statutes, and much 
excitement prevailed amongst the people in relation to the adjustment 
of their land-titles. Mr. K., fully appreciating the evil under which the 
country suffered, gave his whole energies and lent his aid and influence 
to the set lement of this vexed question, and was instrumental in the 



CHARLES F. KEITH, OF TENNESSEE. 371 

passage of a law, prepared by the combined wisdom of the state, which 
gave peace and repose to the country, and harmony to the courts. 

Many other questions of interest to the country, in the management 
and discussion of which Mr. K. acquired much reputation for a correct 
judgment and discriminating intellect, came before that session of the 
legislature, but it it would be tedious to attend to them in detail. The 
best evidence of the high position he occupied amongst his colleagues, 
and of the confidence and aftection they entertained for him, exists in 
the fact that, about the close of the session, they elected him judge of 
the 7th (now the 3d) Circuit, over a distinguished member of the same 
General Assembly, who has since filled a high public position as a 
member of Congress, and more recently as a judicial officer in a different 
section of the State of Tennessee. This circuit consisted in part of the 
country that had been purchased from the Indians, and was the largest 
and most laborious one in the state. It embraced a territory one hun- 
dred and fifty miles in length, intersected by mountains and numerous 
large water-courses, and the courts were required to be held semi- 
annually in each county. The entire southern and eastern boundary 
was divided only by rivers from the country belonging to, and occupied 
by, the Cherokee Indians, and many delicate questions arose in relation 
to the conflicting claims between them and the whites. Lar;i:e portions 
of the territory were but sparsely inhabited, and very few accommoda- 
tions could be had throughout the country. But the newly elected 
judge, undaunted by any of these difficulties, entered at once with zeal 
and energy upon the discharge of the duties of nis office. 

In 1820 he removed with his family to M'Minn county, in the Hi- 
wassee district, and selected for his residence a beautiful place on the 
waters of the Eastanalla, which now bears the name of Elmwood. He 
has continued to reside there until the present time, and has seen the 
country advance from a wilderness to a high state of cultivation. 

The life of a judge is one continued scene of toil and labor, with 
very few incidents to vary or materially change the dull monotony of 
the ordinary routine of business. No one act, therefore, can be selected 
from the great mass of his performances, and be looked to as an exem- 
plification of the character and value of the services he renders to his 
country. His history is not like that of the politician, the hero, or the 
statesman. The nature of his official duties does not require, or indeed 
permit, the performance of any of those brilliant achievements which 
dazzle and excite the public mind, and call forth the burst of enthusi- 
astic applause from admiring nations. His highest praise and greatest 
honor consist in a pure, faithful, independent and impartial administra- 
tion of the laws of the country, with a demeanor, quiet, unassuming, and 
dignified, which will command the respect and esteem of all who may 
be thrown within the circle of his influence. While he entertains de- 
cided, known and fixed views upon all great questions of national and 
state policy, and the influence of his character and station is exerted in 
a silent and unostentatious manner in advancing the success of those 
measures, which, in his estimation, will contribute in the greatest de- 
gree to the happiness of his country, he should keep himself entirely 
removed from the exciting contests of political strife, and should not 



3^2 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

enter into the feelings, prejudices and animosities of parties and ac- 
tions. 

Such were the sentiments that shaped the conduct of Judge K. when 
he first tooli his seat upon the bench, and the same pure and impartial 
administration of justice, the same dignified and elevated demeanor to- 
wards all with whom he associates, the same disinterested devotion to 
conservative principles, now mark his intercourse with the world that 
characterized the first years of his judicial life. 

The citizens of his adopted state have rewarded him well for the 
fidelity with which he discharged the high trusts conferred upon him, 
but he has always esteemed more highly the gratitude and affection of 
his countrymen, than all the pecuniary compensation he has received 
for his services. To secure that gratitude and affection has been one 
of the highest objects of his life, and the consciousness that he enjoys 
them in an eminent degree, is to him a source of infinite gratification. 

As an instance of the confidence the people of Tennessee had in the 
integrity and discretion of the judge, it may be proper to state, that a 
few years after he was elected, the legislature of the state appointed 
him a special commissioner to ascertain and assess the value of occu- 
pant improvements in the Hiwassee District, which had been lost to 
the persons by whom they were made. The assessments amounted to 
a very large sum, but the commission was executed so much to the 
satisfaction of the people, that the legislature directed his certificates 
of the amount due to each claimant to be received as a lawful tender in 
payment for the public lands. 

As an evidence of the delicate and responsible position in which the 
judge was frequently placed in the performance of his official duties, it 
may be proper to refer particularly to one or two cases which are il- 
lustrative of the nature of the business that almost daily came under 
his cognizance. Shortly after Georgia extended her jurisdiction over 
the territory occupied by the Cherokee Indians within her limits, she 
directed a survey to be made of the lands bordering on the State of 
Tennessee. This was believed to be a violation of the intercourse laws 
then in force, and the surveyors were regarded by the Indians as tres- 
passers, and subjected themselves to severe punishment for enter- 
ing on their territory. One of the surveying party having wandered 
from his companions in pursuit of game, was surprised by the Indians, 
who had been watching the movements of the party, and forcibly car- 
ried into the State of Tennessee, where he underwent an examination, 
and, refusing to give bail to answer, was sentenced to be imprisoned, 
but obtained a writ of habeas corpus from Judge K., and was discharged 
by him, on the ground that the Courts of Tennessee could not take ju- 
risdiction of the case, the defendant having been brought by violence, 
and against his will, within the limits of the state. Considerable ex- 
citement prevailed among the Indians as soon as they learned that their 
victim had escaped, and they called upon the judge for a statement of 
his reasons for releasing him. The judge very promptly and kindly 
complied with their request, and gave them a copy of his opinion, and 
it was so satisfactory to them that no further disturbances were made. 

The State of Tennessee having extended her laws over the Indian 



CHARLES F. KEITH, OF TENNESSEE. 373 

territory within her limits, Judge K, declared that he would not enter- 
tain jurisdiction of cases arising within that territory, and when a case 
of homicide came to be tried before him, he sustained a plea in abate- 
ment to the jurisdiction of the court; remarking that the Constitution 
of the United Stateg and the laws and treaties made in pursuance thereof, 
were the supreme law of the land, and that his oath of office and self 
respect required him to enforce them when they came in conflict with 
the legislation of his own state. This occurred about the time of the 
adoption of the new Constitution by the State of Tennessee, which re- 
quired the judges to be elected for a term of years by the legislature, 
and after some of the members of that body had publicly announced 
that they would support no one who would not enforce the laws of the 
state extending the jurisdiction of the courts over the Indian territory, 
and at a time when the tide of popular feeling was greatly in favor of 
assuming such jurisdiction. 

The judge was, however, sustained by the people in his decision, and 
the firm and independent course pursued by him in relation to that 
case, is but an illustration of the impartiality and disinterestedness with 
which he enforces the laws as he understands them to be. 

It would be labor rather superfluous to allude to other cases which 
came before the judge, as it would be impossible to gather from them 
any correct idea of his conduct, capacity and qualifications. 

The best evidence of the manner in which he discharged the duties 
of his office consists in the opinion entertained by those who were best 
acquainted with his judicial course. We therefore extract from a pa- 
per published some years ago in his own county, a portion of a tribute 
of respect paid to him by his fellow-citizens. 

" It is now twenty-four years since the organization of the third judi- 
cial circuit of the State of Tennessee. During that period the Hon. 
Charles F. Keith has presided over its deliberations. His official con- 
duct has hitherto been and is now loell knoion to the great body of this 
community. A pure, faithful, impartial administration of justice has 
eminently distinguished Judge Keith in the discharge of the duties 
connected with his station. In that portion of his judicial course pe- 
culiarly belonging to the Grand Inquest of the county — the suppression 
of vice and the promotion of virtue have alike distinguished the labors 
and solicitude of this eminent jurist. * * * * We intend by 
this no unmeaning flattery. It is the homage paid by the agricultural 
laborer to judicial integrity and untarnished private honor." 

A very remarkable instance of permanent and devoted attachment 
of a people to their public servants occurred in the person of Judge K. 
In 1819 he was elected for life, or during good behavior. In 1834 the 
tenure of his office was changed to a term of eight years. In 1836 he 
was re-elected, and with the exception of an interval of four years, has 
held the office to the present time, being about thirty-three years since 
he first went upon the bench. Lord Mansfield and Chief Justice Mar- 
shall are the only persons, now in our recollection, who held the office 
of judge for a greater period of time. 

In 1824 the father of Judge K. died in Mississippi, at a very ad- 
vanced age ; and many years after his death his heirs received the 



374 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

bounty lands to which he was entitled as an officer of the Continental 
army, amounting in value at the time to a very large sum. 

The judge has always maintained a character for firmness and inde- 
pendence, candor and punctuality. He has never had any altercations 
with the members of the bar, but on the contrary has always been 
treated by them with the utmost kindness and respect. In all impor- 
tant contested causes which have been tried before him, he has preserved 
extensive notes sufficiently luminous to enable one to make a report 
of the cases. His decisions are prompt, clear and forcible. His labors 
have been immense — such, indeed, as but few constitutions could have 
undergone ; and yet it is a remarkable fact that during his long and 
arduous official duties, he has only lost a portion of one term of his 
courts on account of ill health. He has five sons and four daughters, 
of whom one of the former and two of the latter are married. He has 
never had a death or other serious calamity to occur in his family, and 
in other respects the favors of Providence have been showered upon 
him with a bounteous hand. 

In politics he is a whig. Devotedly attached to the. Union of the 
States and the preservation of the Federal Constitution, under which 
the nation has grown to be so great and powerful, he deprecates alike 
that agitation which threatens to array one portion of the confederacy 
against another, and that disposition manifested by some of our coun- 
trymen which prompts them to disregard the time-honored maxims of 
Washington, and the other founders of our government, and entangle 
themselves in all the petty quarrels, dissensions and alliances of foreign 
powers. 

The judge is not at all avaricious, but is prudent, discreet, and libe- 
ral in the expenditure of his means. He possesses a handsome estate, 
upon which he will soon retire from public life to enjoy otium cum 
dignitate. 

Judge K. is still on the bench, pursuing his duties with firmness and 
integrity. Surrounded by a large family, in whose society his chief 
happiness consists, he takes much pleasure in turning their attention tc 
literary pursuits and every occupation that is calculated to improve the 
mind and elevate the character. 




^U»g^»« 



T«0<-Sf 




^^L--^ 



OF CASW£U^ COl/NTT, J\rOJiTJI CARl^ 



Ul.h.£7Zt ^-1 



HON. CALVIN GRAVES, 

OF NORTH CAROLINA. 

When eminent abilities, valuable public services, an unblenched 
political integrity and a stern private virtue, derivable only from the 
daily practice of religion and piety, contribute to adorn the character of 
an individual, then is it most proper to be set prominently forth as an 
example to those who would make themselves useful to their fellow- 
men. And the writer cherishes the belief that he will perform this ac- 
ceptable service to the public, in giving a brief sketch of the public 
services and private character of the Hon. Calvin Graves, of North 
Carolina. 

He was born in the county of Caswell, North Carolina, in January, 
1804. His father, Azariah Graves, was a member of a large and respect- 
able family of the same name, and ranked high as an intelligent and 
enterprising farmer in a community long regarded as among the most 
enlightened and prosperous agriculturists of the South. His mother 
was the daughter of Col. John Williams, who was appointed by the 
general Congress of the province in 1775 lieutenant-colonel of a battalion 
raised in the Hillsboro' district ; and who subsequently distinguished 
himself by the active part he bore in the war of the Revolution. After 
the termination of hostilities, he resumed the practice of his profession 
in Caswell, being the first lawyer who located in that county. 

Mr. Graves received his primary education at the academy under the 
charge of the Rev. William Bingham, in Orange county, which was 
established on ■a footing but little inferior to the colleges of that day, 
and from the high character of the learned divine who controlled 
its operations, gained an extended and deserved reputation. From this 
school, in the year 1823, he was transferred to the University of North 
Carolina, where he remained one year, when, at the request of his father, 
he withdrew to commence the study of the law. 

During the whole of his academical and collegiate course, Mr. Graves, 
by the uniform urbanity of his manners and kindness of his disposition, 
retained the respect and esteem of his fellow-pupils ; and is not known 
to have incurred at any time the displeasure — certainly never the cen- 
sure of his teachers, but by a punctual discharge of his duties, uniform- 
ly won their applause. 

His first year of professional study was prosecuted under the instruc- 
tion of his brother-in-law. Judge Settle, of Rockingham county ; after 
which, he entered the law school of Chief Justice Henderson, of Gran- 
ville count)', where were educated some of the most distinguished jurists 
that now adorn the bench and bar of more than one of the southern and 
western states. 

He was admitted to the bar in 1827, and in the following year com- 
menced the practice in his native county. 

Then, as now, the patience of young practitioners was often sorely 
tried by the long tenor of probation required of them before they were 
allowed to enjoy the profits of their profession. This is especially in- 



376 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

convenient to such persons, because of the constant expenditure of 
money required of them ; and vexations of this character have doubt- 
less made many a one feel the force of the legal witticism that character- 
ized " the prospects of a young lawyer as a contingent remainder that 
requires a particular vested estate to support it." 

Mr. Graves was so fortunate as to be exempted from this usual de- 
lay, for in a short time he gained for himself a lucrative practice in the 
county of his residence — which was doubtless greatly owing to the con- 
fidence the public had in his character from their long acquaintance with 
himself and his flimily. 

As an advocate, he ever maintained a character for candor and an 
undeviating adherence to truth, which, together with his well-known dis- 
like of what are usually termed the tricks of the profession, gave him 
influence with courts and juries. He drew no distinction between the 
suppression of the truth and the statement of a falsehood, and his argu- 
ments, whether to the jury or the court, were always based upon a full 
and fair statement of the evidence and the authorities. In eliciting tes- 
timony, his manner was uniformly respectful to the witnesses of his 
opponent, and he never failed to protect his own when unjustly 
assailed. 

In his arguments at the bar, whether upon questions of law or of fact, 
he was clear and convincing, to which quality, he owed many triumphs 
in his profession. Not to this alone, however, is his success to be attri- 
buted, for his mind was well stored with the learning of his profession; 
and habits of close application enabled him to preserve that strict 
mental discipline which is indispensable to eminence in the profession of 
the law. 

At an early period, the pursuits of his profession were interrupted by 
other requisitions made of him by the people of Caswell, and increasing 
public employments claimed so large a portion of his time that 
for several years past he has entirely withdrawn from the bar. 

It is as a legislator that Mr. Graves is more extensively known. He 
first entered lie publife as a member of the state convention in 1835, 
called to reform the constitution of his native state. Being amongst 
the youngest members of that august body, he preferred the position of 
a laborer, and a listener to the renowned statesmen with whom he was 
associated, to that of aspiring to honors in debate. His characteristic 
modesty and good taste dictated this course, for he was sensible of the 
fact, that such men as Macon, Gaston, Fisher, Meares, and others of the 
wisest and most intellectual gentlemen of the state, who were members 
of the convention, would be listened to with more interest than a young 
man without experience in parliamentary aftairs. He was subsequently 
active in urging the adoption by the people of the amendments recom- 
mended by the convention, the general tendency of which was, to 
liberalize the basis of representation, enlarge the right of suffrage, and 
to extirpate in part the religious intolerance that marred some of the 
features of the old constitution. He made several addresses to the 
people of Caswell on this subject, which were much commended by all 
parties, and fully evinced the distinguished part he was destined to bear 
in public affairs. 

He was returned as a member from Caswell to the House of Com 



CALVIN GRAVES, OF NORTH CAROLINA, 377 

mens in 1840, and from his position was required to engage actively in 
tlie canvass of tliat ^ear, which will long be remembered as one 
characterized by fierce party conflicts from one extent of the country to 
the other. Mr. Graves passed through this trying ordeal with credit 
to himself, as an able political debater, and without having incurred the 
displeasure of a single political adversary. 

Having been trained by his father, from early boyhood, to regard the 
political principles taught by Jeflerson and Madison as indispensable 
to the successful operation of our republican system of government, he 
has upon all occasions advocated the cause of the democratic party. 
During the session of 1840, he was assigned a prominent position as a 
debater, and was useful to his party, as a discreet and judicious leader. 

He was re-elected in 1842, when, the democratic party having a 
majority, he was chosen speaker of the house. At any time this would 
have been considered no common honor, but to one of Mr. Graves' 
short parliamentary experience, it was peculiarly complimentary. In 
this situation, he fully sustained his reputation and gained the approba- 
tion of all parties, by the impartiality and justness of his decisions, 
which was evidenced by a unanimous vote of thanks at the close of the 
session. 

In 1844 Mr. G. w^as again a mem-ber of the house, when, the whig 
party being in the ascendency, he was succeeded in the speaker's chair 
by the Hon. Edward Stanley. At this session he was elected, by joint 
vote of the two houses, to the station of trustee of the university, by 
the highest vote of either of the four who were chosen at the same time, 
several of the most distinguished of the whig party being in nomination. 
This vote well attests the estimation in which he was held by the mem- 
bers of the legislature generally, without distinction of party. 

He was returned to the State Senate, from Caswell, in the session of 
1846, where he was placed in the front rank of every political discus- 
sion. During this session a proposition was made by the whig party to 
re-organize the congressional districts in the state, so as to give them- 
selves additional strength in the House of Representatives. The districts 
had been laid oif by the legislature four years previously, according to 
law, so as to conform to the scale of representation fixed under the cen- 
sus of 1840. The uniform custom had been to arrange the districts the 
first session after each census, and to permit them to remain unaltered 
during that decade. The proposition to re-district the state was re- 
garded by many as a dangerous innovation, and by some as being such 
a radical change of the policy of the state government as to amount to 
a violation of the spirit of its constitution. The bill to effectuate this 
object passed the lower house, and was sent to the Senate, where the 
whig party advocated, and the democrats opposed its passage. Among 
the former were many gentlemen of brilliant intellect and high ora- 
torical accomplishments. Messrs. Hugh Waddell, Gilmer, Lillington, 
and Woodfin, distinguished names in the whig party and in the state, 
were all members of the Senate during this session. The debate on the 
democratic side devolved mainly on Mr. Graves, and well did he sus- 
tain himself in this responsible situation. It was the pleasure of the 
writer of this article to hear his speech upon that occasion, and, as a 
specimen of clear, convincing argument, bold yet persuasive eloquence, 



378 



SKETCHFJS OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



he has rarely heard it equaled. He took a statesman-like view of the 
question, entering minutely into the character and structure of our go- 
vernment, its history, and its practical operation, and the dangerous 
consequences that would result from a change of policy such as proposed 
by the bill. At its termination, as one of his hearers, I felt deeply the 
convincing influences of his speech; and the general commendations be- 
stowed upon it by those near me, without distinction of party, satisfied 
me that 1 was not singular in my appreciation of this great effort. 1 be- 
lieve it was regarded at the time as not admitting of a successful reply — 
at all events none was attempted, but the debate on the other side 
turned mainly ou considerations of mere temporary party expediency. 

During this session the speaker fell sick, when Mr. Graves was una- 
nimously elected speaker pro tern. — a ra^e instance in this country ot 
a gentleman being selected to preside over a legislative body contain- 
ing a party majority against him. 

hi the session of 1848 he was again a member of the Senate, when 
parties were precisely balanced in that body. He was elected speaker, 
and by his dignified and gentlemanly bearing in this high office gave 
universal satisfaction. 

This session of the legislature of North Carolina will long be remem- 
bered for the benevolent and liberal enterprises of state improvement 
it put on foot. An act was passed for the construction of a lunatic asy- 
lum, which is now in rapid course of construction. It embraces all the 
modern improvements, and is, perhaps, the largest building of the kind 
in the United States. There was much opposition to this charitable 
measure on account of the heavy appropriation of money it would re- 
quire, involving an increase of taxes. From the character of Mr. G. it 
may be readily concluded that he was not one of those who would ne- 
glect a duty of the Christian legislator for any mere selfish purpose. He 
gave the measure an efficient support, and was named in a supplemen- 
tal act as one of the commissioners to superintend the construction of 
the building. 

During the same session, a proposition was introduced to construct a 
rail -road connecting the seaports with the far interior of the state, in- 
volving an appropriation of two millions of dollars on the part of the 
state. 

In those localities where the natural resources have been so fully de- 
veloped, by a construction of works of this kind, and where their utility 
is daily manifest to every observer, it is difficult to conceive how a mea- 
sure of this great public importance could meet with opposition. But 
when it is remembered that the people of North Carolina have expe- 
rienced to a limited extent only the benefits resulting from such works, 
that they are really uninformed as to their advantages, but are liable to 
be imposed upon by the misrepresentations of demagogues and time- 
serving politicians, it is but natural to expect opposition to all measures 
involving heavy outlays of public money. 

This measure passed the house by a close vote ; and after a warm and 
acrimonious debate in the Senate, it was found, upon a count, that there 
was a tie among the voters. It devolved upon Mr. G., as speaker, to 
cast his vote in the one scale or in the other — against the bill, upon 
which hung the best hopes of the state, or for it, to the great joy of those 



CALVIN GRAVES, OF NORTH CAROLINA. 379 

who had the public good at heart. His situation was rendered more 
than ordinarily embarrassing iu consequence of the views of his imme- 
diate constituents of Caswell, who, though an intelligent people, were 
opposed to the state's taking part in works of this kind, more from a be- 
lief that the legislature did not possess the power to make appropria- 
tions for such purposes than from a reluctance to contribute their part 
of the public burthens which would be thereby imposed. Mr. G. con- 
sidered that the legislature possessed the power to make the appropria- 
tion, and with him the question resolved itself solely into one of expe- 
diencv, which left his liberal mind no room to doubt as to his course. 
The path of duty being laid open before him, he had the moral courage 
to pursue it, regardless of consequences. He voted for the measure at 
the hazard of popularity, resigning all selfish views to accomplish the 
best interests of the state. 

As was anticipated, this vote was not approved of by many of Mr. 
G.'s constituents ; but it is confidently believed that when this great 
work shall have been completed, and its beneficial influences shall have 
been felt by the many communities through which it is constructed — 
when it shall make the '• waste places"' glad, and cause the " desert to 
blossom as the rose" — dispensing wealth, intelligence, and happiness, 
where now can only be seen poverty, ignorance, and vice — a returning 
sense of justice in that " sober, second thought of the people, which is 
never wrong," will accord to him unreserved praise for the stern, self- 
sacrificing spirit in which this vote was given. 

He subsequently took an active part in raising the amount of stock 
required of individuals to this work ; and some delay having occurred 
in the subscriptions, he, with ex-Governor Moorehead, Gen. Saunders, 
and Mr. Gilmer, was requested by a convention of the friends of the 
improvement to canvass the state along the line of the contemplated 
road for more than two hundred miles, which they did. and, after much 
labor, their efforts were crowned with success ; since which time the 
work has been regularly and actively prosecuted. 

The board of internal improvements in North Carolina consists of 
the governor of the state and two commissioners. Governor Manly 
appointed Mr. Graves as one of these commissioners when he came into 
ofllice in 1849, and his successor. Governor Reid, again renewed the ap- 
pointment with the approbation of his Council of State. He has given 
much attention to the important duties of this situation. 

Fondness for domestic life, the absence of ambition for popular favor, 
and a deep anxiety to be successful in forming the habits and character 
of his children, have confined Mr. G. to a sphere more limited than his 
friends deemed it proper he should occupy. Several times he refused 
to allow his name to be presented for nomination to a seat in Congress, 
when a nomination w^as equivalent to an election. Preferring to be 
useful to being prominent, he has ever been unambitious of mere per- 
sonal distinction. To listen attentively to the counsels of others, but to 
form opinions of his own, and to act upon them, has been a prominent 
feature of his character through life. 

Asa legislator, he participated in all the important debates, but sel- 
dom in discussions upon mere local matters, and was always listened to 
with attention. 



380 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

His personal influence as a member, which was not inconsiderable 
even with opposition members, was uniformly exerted for usefol pur- 
poses of legislation, never for selfish ends. Few members performed 
more labor than he did. Being a ready and accurate draftsman, he per- 
formed much labor in drawing bills, reports, and resolutions for other 
members. 

His speeches, being designed to affect the opinions and actions of those 
who heard them, were seldom written out for the press, and not at any 
time except through the solicitations of others. There being no report- 
ers of the proceedings of the legislature, his printed speeches will bear a 
very small proportion to the many important ones delivered by him. 

Such is the character of Mr. Graves as a public man. His private 
walk is surrounded by all those virtues that adorn the character of the 
Christian gentleman. Affable and polite in his demeanor towards others, 
mild in disposition, sincere in all his declarations, he never fails to gain 
the confidence and esteem of those with whom he associates. 

In 1830 he married Elizabeth, the daughter of Mr. John C. Lea, of 
Caswell county, of which happy union he is comforted with a family of 
interesting children, to whose intellectual and moral culture he bestows 
a watchful attention. 

Having been reared upon a farm, and trained, in a measure, to agri- 
cultural pursuits in early life, he contracted a fondness for them which 
has induced him to give all the attention that could be spared from other 
employments to the culture of the soil. In this occupation he has been 
successful, and has earned for himself the name of an intelligent and 
scientific farmer. 

In 1837 he became a member of the Baptist Church, and has since 
exerted an active influence in behalf of the benevolent enterprises and 
institutions of that denomination of Christians. He has also made him- 
self useful in the administration of their church government. 

A conscientious discharge of duty, whether in public or private sta- 
tions, has gained for Mr. Graves a confidence in the public mind that 
gives him great power for good; and being now but in the prime of 
life, a fliir promise is held out that he will be one of the most useful 
men of the age. 




, Bajuerr< 



o-VT* 



MMET MAJ? (BIM^ IT. T(D)W.. 



A',-,,. 



GENERAL NATHAN TOWSON, 

PAYMASTER-GENERAL U. S. ARMY. 

The history of her patriotic and eminent sons is an important part 
of a nation's inheritance. Each generation owes to those which follow 
it the record of the great names and the illustrious deeds which adorn 
its era, and which may instruct in the great duties of life, and stimu- 
late to their zealous and honorable performance. And of this record 
the biography of distinguished soldiers, civilians and scholars, is at 
once the most interesting and eftective. It is not the grand outlines 
of history that make upon the mind the most definite and lively im- 
pression. It is its minuter details. We sympathize less with masses 
than with individuals. A striking incident in the life of a single hero 
may excite intense interest, and do more to illustrate the elements of 
character and the principles of patriotism, than would the outline his- 
tory of a whole campaign, or of an entire age. The general historian 
frames the skeleton ; the biographer fui'nishes the flesh, and blood, and 
vitality. 

The annals of our country have furnished very few more interesting 
subjects of biographical memoir than the one, a sketch of whose life is 
now attempted. The brilliant and unsullied career of General Tow- 
son, fraught as it is with stirring interest, illustrates the tendency of 
American Institutions to call forth and foster genius and patriotism, 
even when placed in circumstances that seem unfavorable to their 
development. For although it is believed his lineage may be traced 
to a most illustrious source, his parents, though they lived and died 
highly respected and beloved, were not in a situation that afforded to 
their numerous family tho^ advantages of education and position, 
which, in older countries, are deemed essential prestiges of success. 
He was their twelfth child ; and was born on the 22d day of January, 
1784, at the small village of Towson, about seven miles from the city 
of Baltimore. 

The records of the family of his mother, whose name was Cromwell, 
extending back to 1678, taken in connection with the name of their 
family estate in Maryland, (Huntingdon,) which it still bears, furnish 
the strongest presumption, without amounting to conclusive proof, that 
the subject of this memoir is a lineal descendant of the protector of 
England, in the line of Richard, son of Henry, and grandson of the 
great Oliver. But whilst this question possesses interest for the gene- 
alogist and the antiquarian, our hero attaches little importance to it ; 
and, had he been consulted, would probably not have consented to this 
allusion. And yet we love to connect the inheritance of genius, and 
heroism, and lofty principles, with the inheritance of blood. We gaze 
with pleasure upon the re-issuing of a stream that had passed under 
ground, and which, though the channel has been concealed from 
human observation, has continued to roll on in its purity and strength. 
And it is a pleasure which nature bids us covet, and which religion 
approves, to recognize, in the gallant defender of American liberty and 



382 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

rights, a descendant of the illustrious champion of the English Com- 
monwealth. 

At a small country school, in the vicinity of his father's residence, 
the boy, who became the hero, received the rudiments of education ; 
and he continued with his parents, engaged chiefly in the occupations 
of husbandry, until his sixteenth year. During this period he was 
distinguished amongst his companions by a sprightliness of humor, 
and an intensity of disposition that always secured him a cordial wel- 
come in their circle ; whilst his fondness for reading, and his diligent 
use of books, tended to enrich his mind and impart value to his con- 
versation. He was particularly fond of poetry ; and some of his boyish 
productions give proof of genius, that, but for the sterner duties to 
which he was early called, might have been eminently successful in 
this kind of writing. 

In 1801, at the age of seventeen, young Towson was sent to Ken- 
tucky, to take possession of, and improve an estate to which his father 
had a claim ; but, finding the property in dispute, he soon left that 
state, and proceeded to Natchez, where he remained for three years. 
Here his military spirit began to exhibit itself. Louisiana had just 
been acquired by our government from France ; and some apprehen- 
sions were entertained that opposition would be made to our taking 
possession of that territory. This led to the formation of volunteer 
companies ; and young Towson enrolled himself in a company ol 
artillery, which volunteered to accompany Governor Claiborne to 
New-Orleans, with the militia of the Mississippi territory. 

Upon their arrival at Fort Adams, on the Mississippi, much dissatis- 
faction arose among the volunteers, on account of the infamous conduct 
of the contractor for supplies, who issued to them provisions which 
had been condemned, and refused by the regular troops as unsound 
and offensive. The privates of several companies entered into an 
agreement to place Towson at their head, and to set out in a body the 
next morning for home. He was not present at the conference, but 
the result, together with the offer of the command of the malcontents, 
vs^as soon communicated to him. Whilst this indicates the apprecia- 
tion of his talents and abilities for command, formed by his comrades, 
his conduct upon the occasion was highly honorable and patriotic. 
Instead of listening to the whispers of youthful ambition, and seeking 
distinction by accepting the proffered command, he at first remonstrated 
with his comrades, and next threatened that unless they would abandon 
their mutinous purpose, he would expose them to the governor, and 
take such steps as effectually to thwart their scheme and to pimish its 
projector — promising, at the same time, that if they w^ould quietly 
return to duty, no exposure should be made, and he would himself 
wait upon the governor and endeavor to secure a redress of their 
grievances. This was consented to, and, upon Towson's mediation, 
the abuse was corrected. This incident occurring at an early age, 
is illustrative of points of character that have marked his whole 
life. Whilst brave almost to a fault, keenly alive to injustice and 
insult, and capable of an indignation terrible to its objects, all these 
more stormy elements of character were tempered by a lofty regard to 
the claims of duty, were restrained by a loyal respect for lawful 



NATHAN T0W30N. OF MARYLAND. 383 

authority, and were guided by the dictates of genuine honor and 
enlarged patriotism. Upon the return of the militia from this expedi- 
tion, Towson was appointed first lieutenant of the company ; and soon 
after to the command of the " Natchez Volunteer Artillery." If the 
reader could realize the condition of the southwestern country at this 
period, he would discover proof of chivalrous spirit and enterprising 
character, in the very fact that the Maryland stripling, even before he 
had attained his majority, had bscome a prominent actor in its stirring 
scenes of hardships and adventure. There were, at that time, no 
steamships upon the western waters. He descended the river in a 
flat boat, exposed to hardships and perils now unknown. The great 
valley, now teeming Avith millions of population, was then a vast wil- 
derness, with but here and there a settlement or town. The red men 
still roamed the forests, or scoured the prairies that skirted the father 
of waters ; and none but the most enterprising and daring were found 
braving the perils of the frontier. 

In the autumn of 1805, our youthful adventurer returned to Baltimore 
county, Avhere he arrived only a few weeks previous to the death of 
his father. Here he remained, residing with his mother, until her 
decease, which took place about two years after that of his father. 

In 1807, the outrage committed upon the American frigate Chesa- 
peake by the British ship-of-war Leopard, awakened a general burst 
of indignation throughout the United States ; and this, added to other 
difficulties, rendering a war with Great Britain probable, a military 
spirit was roused in all parts of the country, and increased attention 
was paid to military discipline. Mr. Towson was forward and activti 
in promoting both ; and, had his example been more generally imitated, 
the country would have been found, in 1812, in a better condition for 
a state of war than it was. He was appointed adjutant of the 7th 
Regiment of Maryland Militia ; and he labored with such skill and 
assiduity as to bring that regiment to a high state of discipline. By 
this he gained such a reputation for military talents, that, at the sub- 
sequent meeting of the State Legislature, when it was deemed neces- 
sary to revise the militia laws, the subject was referred to him for 
advice by the members for the county. 

From this period until 1812, Mr. Towson, it would appear, devoted 
himself to the business of agriculture. But his energetic mind could 
not be confined wholly to such pursuits. All his leisure hours were 
employed in the study of mathematical science, in which, and in sev- 
eral branches of mechanics, he made great proficiency. Nor did he 
neglect other branches of study, particularly history and poetry. He 
was enthusiastic in his admiration of Scotland's rustic bard, the gifted 
Burns, and about this time wrote several pieces for his friends in 
imitation of his favorite. If Mr. Towson's opportunities for improve- 
ment at this period had equalled either his intellectual abilities or his 
thirst for knowledge, none who know him can doubt that he might 
have reached an eminence second to few of his contemporaries ; for 
as it was, with but imperfect opportunities of self-culture, his attain- 
ments were handsome, and he brought to the service of his country a 
mind well trained, and of remarkable vigor and clearness. 

On the 15th of March, 1812, Mr. Towson received the appointment 



384 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

of captain of artillery, and on the first of May following was ordered 
on the recruiting service. In this he was so diligent, popular and 
successful, that by the time the declaration of war was promulgated, 
he had recruited as fine a company as ever entered the field. And it 
is evidence of the confidence reposed in him, by those who had the 
best opportunities of knowing his character, that this corps was largely 
composed of his immediate neighbors, the companions of his youth. 

With this company he was soon afterwards ordered to join the 2d 
Regiment of Artillery, then at Philadelphia, under the command of 
Lieutenant Colonel Scott, now the commander-in-chief of the army of 
the United States. Accordingly, on the 3d of August, sailing from 
Baltimore, they landed at Elkton, and thence marched to Philadelphia, 
under command of Colonel Mitchell, then a major in the 2d Artillery. 
They encamped at Mantua, now West Philadelphia. In a short time 
Colonel Scott was ordered to join the army under General Dearborn, 
at Greenbush, opposite Albany, whither he repaired with Towson's 
and Barker's companies. It might be interesting, did the limits of 
this memoir permit, to contrast the facilities now afibrded for trans 
porting troops with those enjoyed in 1812. Now a regiment of artil- 
lery could be transported from Baltimore to Greenbush in two days, or 
even less ; then it required a tedious and toilsome alternation of 
marches and sails lasting for nearly two weeks. 

Besides the northwestern army under General Harrison, there was 
one at this time stationed at Plattsburg, under Brigadier-General 
Bloomfield, and another at Buffalo, under Brigadier-General Smyth ; 
and Colonel Scott, having reasons to expect that the latter force would 
soon be actively employed, had no sooner arrived at Greenbush than 
he solicited to be sent with his artillery to Buffalo. Halting but three 
days at Albany, to provide a train of field-pieces, they pressed on 
towards the scene of active operations. Arrived at Buffalo, the artil- 
lery was at once ordered to Black Rock, a short distance down the 
Niagara river, to protect the vessels then fitting out for the lake 
service, under the command of Lieutenant Elliott, of the Navy. On the 
morning after their arrival at Black Rock, two of the vessels of the 
enemy came down the lake, and anchored, one of them under the guns 
of Fort Erie, a British fortress on the Canada shore, and the other 
immediately above. 

The one highest up the stream was the Detroit, the other the Cale- 
donia. They were armed vessels, one of them richly laden with furs. 
Lieutenant Elliott immediately formed a plan of capturing these vessels, 
and proposed it to General Smyth and Colonel Scott, asking the co- 
operation of the army. The two companies of artillery volunteered to 
a man, but as they were not all required, it was determined, by draft, 
who should go. The artillery furnished thirty men, and two officers ; 
and, as the ranks of Captains Towson and Barker had not been set- 
tled, they cast lots for the command, and it fell upon Captain Towson. 
The expedition consisted of two boats ; the one under the command 
of Lieutenant Elliott, accompanied by Lieutenant Roach of the artil- 
lery, and Lieutenant Prestman, of Baltimore, to command the infantry. 
The other boat, under command of sailing-master Watts, contained 
twenty sailors, and twenty-eight artillerists, under Captain Towson. 



NATHAN TOWSON, OF MARYLAND. bSo 

The plan was to ascend the lake with muffled oars, drop down with 
the current, make a simultaneous attack, Elliott upon the Detroit, 
Watts and Towson upon the Caledonia, and carry them by boarding. 
They set out from BufTalo creek at one o'clock, in the morning of 
October 9, 1812. In ascending the lake, the boat which carried 
Towson's party got in advance, and lost sight of the other ; and in 
descending to the attack was hailed and fired at by the Detroit. 
Sailing-master Watts, supposing that his pilot had failed to keep near 
enough to the shore to reach the Caledonia, told him so, and ordered 
him to pass that vessel. This order involved the abandonment of the 
part of the enterprise committed to this boat. The pilot insisted that 
they could reach the enemy's vessel ; but the sailing-master thought it 
was impracticable. At this critical juncture, Captain Towson, dread- 
ing the disgrace of abandoning the enterprise without a blow, and 
convinced that Mr. Watts was mistaken in opinion, sprung upon one 
of the benches, and exclaimed, " I take command of this boat ; lay 
her alongside of the brig." His order was promptly obeyed by the 
pilot and the men, and in a few seconds they Avere alongside. All the 
grapplings, however, except one, failed to take hold of the enemy's 
vessel, and the boat was borne astern by the current, and was exposed 
to a destructive fire from the deck and the cabin windows of the brig. 
The boat was hauled alongside with wonderful promptness and energy, 
and in less than two minutes the enemy was boarded and carried. 
The attention of the Detroit was so engaged by the assault upon her 
consort, that she did not observe the approach of Lieutenant Elliott in- 
the other boat , so that he was enabled, with little dithculty and with- 
out loss, to capture that vessel. Captain Towson's party suflered 
more severely, eight being wounded, one mortally wounded, and one 
killed, making ten in all. Both brigs were immediately gotten under 
way ; but, unfortunately, in the darkness of the night, both were 
grounded in the Niagara river, within point blank shot of the Canada 
shore. Of this mishap the enemy took advantage, and at day dawn 
brought up some field-pieces and opened a battery upon the brigs. 
About sunrise, the sailing-master and pilot left the Caledonia, with the 
prisoners. Captain Towson remained on board, took out a large por- 
tion of the cargo, consisting of furs, and about sunset succeeded in 
getting the vessel afloat, although he and his men were exposed to the 
enemy's Ike, one of whose shots came very near destroying him. All 
the sailors except two having deserted in landing the cargo, and Cap- 
tain Towson being ignorant of navigation, the vessel again ran aground 
near Squaw Island. In the night. Colonel Schuyler, who had just 
assumed command at Black Rock, received intelligence that the Bri- 
tish general. Brock, had crossed the Niagara below with a formidable 
force to attack him. Lieutenant Elliott sent a messenger with this 
information to Captain Towson, with combustibles, and an order to 
burn the brig. Towson would not permit this order to be executed ; 
but believing his presence with his company necessary, in case of an 
attack on shore, he left a faithful non-commissioned officer and two 
men on board, with orders to fire and abandon her, if it should appear 
that the enemy were likely to force our troops to retire from Black 
Rock. This did not occur. General Brock had not crossed the 

26 



386 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Niagara, as reported ; and thus, by the judicious and intrepid conduct 
of Captain Towson, the Caledonia was reserved to make one of the 
gallant Perry's fleet, so gloriously triumphant on Lake Erie, on the 
10th of September. 

The part which the artillerists and infantry of the army, who volun- 
teered for this enterprise, bore in its achievement, has certainly never 
yet received from our government the notice which it merited. Lieut. 
Colonel Scott, to whom Captain Towson naturally looked for a report 
of his participation in the exploit, was made prisoner at Queenston 
immediately after, and before he had an opportunity of mentioning the 
gallantry of the captain and his command. The only report, therefore, 
which was made of the capture of the brigs, was made by the naval 
commander, who, it would seem, did not feel called upon to state fully 
the part borne by the land force. To him belonged the credit of ori- 
ginating the enterprise; but much of the success of its execution must, 
in iustice, be accorded to the brave and persevering energy of Towson. 
Of the latter no notice was taken by the authorities at Washington, 
whilst Lieutenant Elliott received the thanks of Congress. But for 
Towson's prompt assumption of the command at the important crisis, 
the Caledonia had not been taken, and most probably the whole enter- 
prise had failed ; but, under his intrepid conduct, she was boarded, 
carried, and saved, amid circumstances of peculiar danger and diflft- 
culty ; and thus, in the case of the Caledonia, one avowed object of 
the exploit, the increase of our naval force on the lake, was completely 
gained ; whilst the other brig was destroyed by order of her captor. 
On the return of Colonel Scott from captivity some months afterward, 
he addressed the following letter to Captain Towson's representative 
in Congress, which throws light upon the affair above mentioned : 

" Philadelphia, February 17, 1813. 
" Dear Sir : — 1 have reproached myself for seeming even for a 
moment to neglect our friend Captain Towson, whose merits I men- 
tioned to you, in a general way, when I had the honor to see you in 
Washington. But for my capture at Queenston, and the constant 
bustle in which I was engaged for the three or four days preceding, 1 
should have made an official report of the affair of the 9th October at 
Black Rock, in which Captain T. bore a conspicuous part, both in 
boarding the vessels, and in the events which followed. The expedi- 
tion was suggested and fitted out under the auspices of Lieutenant 
Elliott of the Navy, but not having a sufficient number of seamen to 
effect the object, he applied to me for assistance. I turned out my 
detachment, and called for volunteers. Every man offered his services. 
A ballot was then ordered between Captains Towson and Barker, when 
it fell to the lot of the former to go on this service. With thirty men, 
aided by some seamen. Captain Towson had the principal share in 
boarding and carrying the Caledonia, with the loss of six men in 
killed and wounded. There was in the same boat with him a naval 
officer, who had the principal direction as to the manner in which the 
enemy should be approached ; but, it was acknowledged by all hands, 
that the artillerists were the most effective in the capture. This is 
aot so fully stated in Lieutenant Elliott's report of the affair as I could 



NATHAN TOWSON, OF MARYLAND. 387 

have wished, but it is nevertheless the fact. Captain Towson was 
one of the first on board, and behaved throughout with the most 
exemplary gallantry. The vessels were cut out from under Fort 
Erie. At daylight they had dropped down the Niagara to a point 
opposite Black Rock, where the British commenced a very heavy fire 
upon them. For the want of wind both got agi-oimd, and the Cale- 
donia was abandoned by the seamen. Captain T. remained by his 
prize, and, imder a heavy cannonade, succeeded in taking out of the 
vessel a valuable cargo of peltry and furs. 

" The conduct of this officer was on all occasions zealous and inde- 
fatigable. The part he bore in the action of Queenston is mentioned 
in my report of that affair. Supposing that this statement might be 
of some little service to a man, now distant from his home, in the ser- 
vice of his country, or at least that it might afford some small portion 
of pleasure to one who is his neighbor and representative, I have taken 
the liberty of giving it your address, sir, 

" And have the honor to be, 

" Your most obedient servant, 

" W. Scott. 
» The Honorable A. M'Kim, 
" In Congress." 

Two days after Captain Towson landed from the Caledonia, he was 
en route, with Scott's detachment of artillery, to take part in the con- 
templated invasion of Canada, and the battle of Queenston. The 
artillery were the only troops of General Smyth's command engaged in 
that battle. They had come down the Niagara to Schlosser in boats, 
on the 11th of October, and thence marched for Lewiston ; and as 
they approached that place, before day on the morning of the 13th, 
they learned, by the booming of artillery, and the glare of bombs flying 
across the river, that the embarkation had taken place, and the battle 
was begun. They hastened on to the scene of action ; but only one 
boat had been provided for the transportation of artillery, and that 
could carry but one piece at a time. This was employed by Captain 
Gibson, of the Light Artillery, who had come up from Fort Niagara, 
and succeeded in getting over but one of his guns and a caisson ; but 
the boat had not been brought back. The remainder of the artillery 
was posted opposite the enemy's batteries, and throughout the whole 
day kept up a heavy cannonade. About 8 o'clock in the morning, 
Colonel Scott crossed over to Queenston, and took command of the 
regulars, leaving Captain Towson in command of the artillery. 

After the action. Captain Towson reported to General Van Rensse- 
laer for orders. The General, whose militia had already refused to 
cross over to the assistance of their brethren,* had but little confidence 

* We once heard General Towson remark, that he attributed the panic of the 
militia, and their refusal to cro-ss over, chiefly to two causes : first, to the fact that 
the wounded, who had been carried back to the American shore, and laid along the 
beach, presented such a sight of horror, and by their wailings so alarmed the men, 
that they shrunk from meeting similar perils ; and, secondly, a British battery com- 
manded the ferry ; and he was of opinion that if that battery had been taken, as it 
easily might have been, the militia might have embarked and the day been retrieved. 



388 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERIC1?I3. 

that they would be able or willing to defend their own position, and 
told Captain Towson that he expected to be obliged to retreat. Tow- 
son, however, assured him, that with the artillery under his command, 
and such of the militia as would be willing to remain, he had no doubt 
of being able to defend his camp, provided he should have permission 
to dispose of the force as he thought proper. To this proposition the 
General readily acceded, with the hope of saving a large quantity of 
public property, which must have fallen into the hands of the enemy 
in case of a retreat. The next day after the battle of Queenston, an 
incident occurred, illustrative of the disinterested magnanimity of the 
American soldier, and of the singleness of purpose with which he 
aims to advance the welfare of his country, and of his brethren in arms. 
Colonel Scott had been taken prisoner, and was detained at Newark, 
on the shore of Lake Ontario, opposite Fort Niagara. The soldiers of 
his command, encouraged by Captain Towson, conceived the daring 
exploit of eflecting his rescue, and the captain, with a view to accom- 
plish it, desired to ascertain the precise locality of the imprisoned 
colonel's quarters, and accordingly he obtained from General Van 
Rensselaer permissior to carry a flag of truce to the British post at 
Newark. Several letters for Colonel Scott having arrived at camp, 
together with the necessity of carrying to him his baggage, all of 
which he had of course left behind, furnished a fair pretext ; and the 
captain crossed over to Newark. He was met, upon landing, by the 
British officers, and conducted to the place where he might have an 
interview with his colonel. Several Indians walked along beside him, 
one of whom, in the presence of the British officers, insulted Captain 
Towson, by tauntingly exhibiting some American uniforms, which he 
had doubtless taken from the dead at Queenston, and, reproaching 
the " Yankee," threatened that when he met him in l)attle he would in 
like manner strip him. This outrage was not rebuked by the officers, 
although offered to a flag of truce. 

The captain was permitted a brief interview with his captive colonel, 
but they were so closely watched, that no opportunity offered of ascer- 
taining from him the exact position of his quarters, nor of communi- 
cating the design to attempt his rescue. But forming the best conjec- 
ture he was able, he returned to camp, resolved, at all hazards, to 
make the attempt. But that same day, immediately after his return to 
camp, a proposal for an armistice of three days came from the British 
general, and was acceded to by General Van Rensselaer, and before 
the close of the armistice, Scott had been sent off to Montreal. On 
this account the scheme failed ; but its very conception shows that 
generous minds rise above selfish considerations of personal advance- 
ment, when the honor and liberty of a gallant comrade are involved. 
To a less magnanimous and a more calculating mind, the idea of a 
perilous attempt to rescue a superior officer, who might stand in the 
way of his deliverer's promotion, might not have commended itself. 

Pending the armistice. Captain Towson went on with his arrange- 
ments for defence. General Van Rensselaer having submitted the 
entire control to him, he concentrated the forces of the encampment, 
assigned to the different regiments their positions, and gave notice to 
the militia that, in the event of an attack by the enemy, if they (the 



OF MARYLAND. 389 

militia) attempted to quit their positions, the artillery, posted on their 
flanks, had peremptory orders to turn their fire upon them. 

Nothing important occurred upon the Niagara frontier, during this 
campaign, after the battle of Queenston. General Smyth returned to 
Buffalo ; and several fruitless attempts were made to cross the Niagara. 
When the army went into winter-quarters, Captain Towson hatl his 
choice either to remain at Black Rock, or to join the artillery at Wil- 
liamsville, under the command of Colonel Moses Porter. He preferred 
the former ; and, after getting his men into comfortable quarters, em- 
ployed the time in the drill exercise, and in building and repairing 
batteries. 

Black Rock was considered the alarm post for the American army ; 
and Colonel Porter, who had succeeded General Smyth in the com- 
mand, had ordered Captain Towson to fire three guns in quick succes- 
sion, in the event of any indication of an attack by the enemy. On 
the night of the 16th March, 1813, some militia, stationed at Buffalo, 
conceived the project of crossing on the ice, and attacking Fort Erie. 
They had proceeded about half way across the straits, when probably 
their hearts failed them, and suddenly abandoning the enterprise, they 
discharged their arms and returned. This firing caused Towson to 
fire his alarm guns, and the enemy's batteries were, in consequence, 
immediately opened upon him. This was about twelve o'clock at 
night ; Towson returned their fire, and a very spirited cannonade was 
kept up for some time. As this contest made it necessary for some of 
the troops who could not participate in it to leave their barracks, which 
stood in an exposed situation, and to stay out in the cold, some of them 
who supposed that the continuance of the cannonade was not of great 
importance, procured from the commanding officer an order to be sent 
to Captain Towson to cease firing. The captain, believing that this 
would be a sacrifice of his own and his country's honor, by giving to 
the enemy grounds to say that they had silenced his battery, and to 
report it as a victory, repaired to head-quarters at once, and tendered 
the resignation of his commission. Fortunately for the service, how- 
ever, Colonel Porter, instead of accepting the proffered resignation, 
ordered Towson to return to his post, and following him immediately, 
called out to him as he approached his battery, " Go on, Captain Tow- 
son ; ril send you ammunition, and you shall fire as much as you 
please." This was, perhaps, one of the best practical lessons in gun- 
nery which our artillerists received during the war. Towson lost 
three men by accident. The loss of the enemy was never ascertained, 
but it was supposed to be considerable, from the following extract of a 
letter from Colonel Bishop, who commanded at Fort Erie, to General 
Vincent, which was found among the papers of the latter, after the 
capture of Fort George : " The Americans," says he, " have learned 
the art of using our shrapnel shells ; one of their shells, fired on the 
17th, killed and wounded eight men." 

At the opening of the campaign of 1813, Captain Towson was at- 
tached to the brigade of General Winder, and participated with it in 
the capture of Fort George. While this army, which pursued the 
enemy along the Canadian peninsula, lay at Forty-mile-Creek, a few 
days previous to the battle of Stony Creek, Captain Towson received 



390 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

information that a quantity of ammunition and military stores had been 
left by the enemy on his retreat, about four miles from the American 
camp. He comnumicated this to the general, and asked permission 
to go in quest of them. The enemy, meantime, having learned that 
the Americans had discovered the stores, despatched the famous Chief, 
Norton, with two hundred Indians, to intercept the party that might be 
sent to remove them. Captain Towson, however, succeeded in his 
hazardous enterprise, and sent the stores safely into camp before the 
arrival of Norton's party, but remained behind himself, with six of his 
men, for the purpose of making further search. In the meantime the 
Indians arrived ; but Towson was too wary a soldier to be taken by 
surprise ; he discovered the savage enemy before they could accom- 
plish their purpose of getting between his party and the American 
camp. He despatched an express to General Winder, with intelli- 
gence of his situation, and proposing to amuse the Indians and draw 
them towards the camp, if the general should think proper to order a 
detachment to his aid. Such an order was forthwith given to the 
riflemen, and had it been promptly executed, there is little doubt that 
a large portion of the Indian force might have been killed or captured, 
for having no idea that information of their approach had been sent to 
the American camp, they pursued Towson and his little party for a 
considerable distance. One of his men was wounded in this runnins 
fight, and afterwards tomahavjked and scalped, the first act of brutality 
which his Britannic Majesty's allies had an opportunity of committing 
upon the peninsula. The victim of this barbarity was a lovely youth, 
of a little more than sixteen, that had sought permission to go, contrary 
to the captain's advice. 

Pursuing the retreating foe, our army obtained sight of his rear at 
nightfall of the 5th of June, at Stony Creek, some ten miles beyond 
the scene of the above-mentioned incidents. Here the enemy made 
an attack upon the American camp about one or two o'clock on the 
morning of the 6th, and a smart action ensued, in which, although the 
Americans remained masters of the field, they suffered severely, and 
both their generals. Winder and Chandler, were made prisoners. In 
this battle Towson was the senior officer of artillery, and was stationed 
about the centre of our camp, opposite to a lane, through which, in case 
of an assault, the enemy would most likely advance. But the writer 
is happy to be able to give an account of this affair in General Tow- 
son's own words, having been permitted to extract from the autograph 
book of the late Mrs. Tayloe, of Washington, the following letter : 

" Dear Madam : — In compliance with your request that I would 
furnish you with a specimen of my chirography, and that in doing so 
I Avould describe some incident connected with my military life, I have 
selected the following, because I have as vivid a recollection of the 
facts connected with it as if it had occurred but yesterday : 

" After the capture of Fort George, in 1813, the British retreated to 
the head of Lake Ontario, and were followed by the United States 
troops, under the command of Generals Chandler and Winder. My 
company was attached to the brigade of the latter. On the evening 
of the 5th of June, we halted near Stony Creek, and took up a position 



NATHAN TOWSON, OF MARYLAND, 



391 



for the night, intending to leave it by daybreak next morning, with the 
expectation of overtaking the enemy, as we had discovered his rear. 
The ground on Avhich we bivouacked was judiciously selected. The 
guards were properly stationed, and the artillery put in position to 
defend the approaches to our camp. My command was assigned to 
the defence of the road by which the enemy would advance, if he 
should venture to attack ; but of that we had little expectation. It 
was important, however, that we should be prepared for such an event, 
and accordingly my guns were charged, and pointed, and the matches 
lighted before the men were permitted to lie down. The night was 
cloudy and very dark. About one o'clock, a single musket was fired 
by the picket in front of my battery. In a few seconds the men were 
at their stations, and the officers discussing the probability of an attack. 
Would the enemy, who had sacrificed his artillery and baggage to 
enable him to escape us, turn upon his pursuers, and become the assail- 
ant ? Was it not more likely to be a false alarm ? At all events, time 
would be allowed for the guard to come in before we fired, otherwise 
we might destroy our own troops. 

" At this moment a person on horseback rode briskly up, nor did he 
check his horse until the animal's breast touched the muzzle of one oi 
the guns. He wore an overcoat ; but it was evident, from the chapeau 
bras, that he was an officer, whether British or American we could not 
tell. Lieutenant M'Donough seized the bridle, and putting his sword 
to the officer's breast, demanded who he was. The answer was, " a 
friend." The bridle was loosed, the horse turned round, the rider's 
^urs dashed into the animal's sides, and he was urged back through 
the narrow lane at his utmost speed. There was no longer a doubt ; 
this daring person must be a British officer, leading a force to attack 
us. He had thus unexpectedly gained the intelligence that our artil- 
lery was in position, and ready to open on his columns. This would 
be most disastrous, and there was but one way to prevent it. The 
lane, by which his troops were advancing, was intercepted by another, 
at right angles, some two hundred paces in front of my battery. Could 
he gain the head of his column, and wheel it down this second lane 
before the artillery fired, his troops might escape the slaughter that 
otherwise awaited them ; he could then attack the flank, instead of 
the centre of our line, as he at first intended. It was almost a hope- 
less case ; the chances were more than an hundred to one against 
him. The discharge of either piece of artillery must destroy him ; 
but the object to be accomplished was of vast importance. The suc- 
cess of the enterprise, the lives of the gallant troops he was leading 
depended upon it, and he did not hesitate. It was evident, from the 
quick perception and fearless decision of this officer, that he was a 
master spirit, one that even an enemy must respect, and might admire. 
I did both ; and deeply regretted, as I gave the order to fire, that so 
gallant a soldier would be the victim. But there was no alternative. 
The column of attack was advancing upon the road by which he 
returned, and if it was not checked, my battery would be carried, and 
the army sacrificed. We could hear the measured tread of the 
infantry advancing in close column, and our order to fire could not be 
delayed. The instant the rider applied the spurs to his horse I gave 



392 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS 

:t. The pieces of artillery, each charged with a round shot, and a 
canister of musket balls, were levelled so as to rake the lane to the 
extent of their range. The matches were applied to all ; ' and of 
course,' you will say, ' the officer who had the hardihood to brave 
such danger, must have sacrificed his life to his daring.' Not so ; 
soldiers are apt to believe in destiny ; and it is, perhaps, owing to their 
witnessing scenes like the one I am describing. The matches were 
applied again and again, but there was no explosion. ' Why don't 
you fire V ' The guns will not go off, sir !' It is surprising with what 
rapidity thoughts pass through the mind when it is highly excited. 
In an instant it flashed upon me — ' there has been treachery — the guns 
must be spiked.' This would account for the officer riding so fear- 
lessly up to their muzzles, and returning unscathed. My battery would 
be carried without resistance, and I should be disgraced. An inde 
scribable feeling of horror came over me ; I felt faint and sick at heart, 
when a thought occurred— some of the guns might be unspiked. I 
sprang to the nearest — felt the priming ; it was undisturbed ; there 
was no spike there. I turned to the gunner in a rage ; — ' why did you 
not fire V ' The powder will not ignite, sir.' Instantly I got a port- 
fire, lighted it, touched the guns off myself, and breathed again. And 
never was music so welcome to my ears as the report of the first gun. 
The truth was, the dews of the evening had damped the powder, and 
our slow-match was damaged, as we afterwards ascertained. All this 
occurred in a brief space of time ; but the delay was sufficient to 
enable the hero of the night to return to his column, and change the 
direction of its front before we fired, yet not in season to save his rear 
companies, and these suffered severely. 

" This was but one of several daring acts of the same gallant officer 
that night. He planned the attack, and was the soul of the enterprise. 
I was informed by one of the prisoners next day, that he was the 
Assistant Adjutant-General of the Forces in Canada ; and is, I believe 
the present Major-General Sir John Harvey. 

" N. TowsoN. 

" Washington City, May 1th, 1842. 
" Mrs. Ogle Tayloe." 

The fire of Towson's artillery whilst it lasted was uncommonly 
destructive ; but by some unfortunate mistake, occasioned by the dark- 
ness, orders were brought him to cease firing. The order was imme- 
diately obeyed ; and whilst he was taking advantage of the cessation 
to prepare his rear for movement, if it should become necessary, by 
attaching horses to his caissons, &c., the enemy charged his battery. 
The night was so dark that they approached within a few yards before 
they were discovered. His men were not provided with small arms ; 
and as the 23d infantry, which had been posted in their rear for their 
support, had abandoned their position at the commencement of the 
action, his guns fell into the hands of the enemy ; several of his men 
were bayoneted, and seventeen of them made prisoners. Upon being 
informed of this event, Captain Towson, doubting the correctness of 
the information, proceeded to Captain Steel, of the infantry, towards his 
battery, for the purpose of ascertaining the fact, and were both made 



NATHAN TOWSO.V, OF MARYLAND. 39-} 

prisoners by the party in possession of his guns. But Towson, ever 
on the alert, watched a favorable opportunity, and by a bold exertion 
made his escape. Numerous shots wore fired after him, but by zig- 
zag movements, and favored by the darkness, he escaped unhurt. As 
soon as daylight appeared, he regained possession of two of his guns, 
which had been spiked and left upon the field ; and collecting a few 
stragglers of his company, succeeded in rendering the guns again ser- 
viceable. Some red-coats were still visible in the woods skirting the 
camp ; but by firing a few rounds upon them they were induced to 
retire altogether, leaving the Americans masters of the field. 

By a council of war, to which Captain Towson, though senior officer 
of artillery, was not invited, it was decided that the army should return 
to Forty-mile Creek, a measure against which he strongly remonstrated. 
An accident of a touching character, and which gives us a glimpse of 
the " lights and shadows^'' of a soldier's life, was related to us by Gen- 
eral Towson himself, not without emotion. The morning after the 
battle of Stony Creek, the enemy sent in a fiag, requesting that a 
female who accompanied it, the wife of a sergeant of the British 49th, 
might be informed whether her husband, who was missing, was among 
the wounded in our hands, and if not, that she might be permitted to 
search for his body amono- the slain. Whilst the officer, Avho received 
the flag, was questioning the bearer, a little dog, which had accom- 
panied his mistress, and seemed to comprehend the nature of her sad 
errand, ran around among the dead bodies, smelling each, until he dis- 
covered that of his master, when, sitting down beside it, he commenced 
howling piteously. " There," shrieked the poor woman, " there is my 
husband," and, rushing towards him, found it but too true. 

*' His body bathed in purple gore. 

She bore with her away ; 
And kissed it cold a thousand times. 
Ere it was clad in clay " 

In the official report of the affair at Stony Creek, the names of Cap- 
tains Archer, Towson, and Leonard, are mentioned with commendation. 
The truth is, that Captain Archer was with the party on the lake 
shore, two miles distant ; and Captain Leonard, although present, was 
not actively engaged ; so that whatever credit is due to the artillery 
force on that occasion should have been given exclusively to Captain 
Towson's command. 

After the return of the army to Forty-mile Creek, the enemy's fleet 
made its appearance on the morning of the 8th of June ; and a large 
schooner was towed in towards shore, for the purpose of destroying 
the boats of the American army, upon which the baggage was in pro- 
cess of being embarked. To prevent the accomplishment of this 
object. Captains Towson and Archer's companies were ordered to the 
shore with four field pieces, with which they gave the schooner so 
uncomfortable a reception that she was compelled to withdraw and 
rejoin the fleet. In giving an account of this affair. General Lewis 
appears to give the chief credit of it to Captain Totten, of the Engi- 
neers. His language is, after mentioning the orders given to Towson 
and Archer, " I, at the same time, sent Captain Totten, of the Engi- 



394 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

neers, (a most valuable officer,) to construct a temporary furnace for 
heating" sliot, which was prepared and in operation in thirty minutes. 
Her fire was returned with a vivacity and effect (excelled by no artil- 
lery in the world) which soon compelled her to retire." The general's 
bad collocation of his sentences might make the impression that this 
handsome cannonade was the result of this rapidly constructed furnace 
for heating shot. Now the truth is, that Towson's artillery only was 
within range of the schooner ; his guns only were used in the affair ; 
and the only furnace to heat shot which was erected was a pile of 
rails, which, by command of Towson, his men threw together and set 
on fire, piling shot upon the top of them. But before the shot were 
heated the schooner was beaten off. And yet, although Captain Totten 
had nothing to do with the repulse of the schooner, he was brevetted 
on the above report of General Lewis. 

At ten o'clock of the same day on which the above affair occurred, 
the army was put in motion and returned to Fort George. Some time 
after this. General Boyd assumed command ; and whilst the army under 
him lay at Fort George, the enemy was in possession of all the strong 
positions in the neighborhood, and skirmishes took place, almost every 
day, between pickets and foraging parties ; so that picket duty became 
one of constant activity, as well as of considerable hazard. Many of 
the infantry captains, to whom the duty especially belonged, being sick 
or absent, and the remainder of the army being quite inactive, it was 
somewhat difficult to find officei's to command the pickets. Towson, 
hearing the commanding general mention this difficulty, volunteered 
his services, and was the only artillery officer that did so. The pick- 
ets were attacked almost every night. It was in one of these skir- 
mishes of a foraging party that Captain Towson received a wound in 
the hand. He was not in command, but had ridden up to an artillery 
officer, Avho was firing at the enemy, to advise him to change the 
direction of his fire, when a ball struck his sword, and glanced, 
severely wounding his hand. 

When the army moved down the St. Lawrence, some troops were 
left at Fort George, amongst which were the 2d Artillery, to which 
Captain Towson belonged. They were afterwards marched to Sack- 
ett's Harbor, where Towson remained until April, 1814. 

He was then ordered to the Niagara frontier, and commenced his 
march under command of Colonel Mitchell, of the 3d Artillery, to 
which, for the time, his company was attached. When they reached 
Batavia, arrangements were made which separated these officers. 
Towson continued his march to Buffalo, while Colonel Mitchell was 
ordered to make a retrograde movement, with four companies, for the 
protection of the public property at Oswego. 

Having mentioned the name of this gallant officer, our readers will 
pardon us for detaining them a few moments whilst we follow him to 
Oswego. All the naval ordnance and equipments for Chauncey's 
fleet, together with the provisions for the army, and an immense quan- 
tity of other public and private property, were deposited at the falls of 
Oswego river. The British, after several unsuccessful attempts to 
destroy our shipping and naval materials elsewhere, at length formed 
the design of seizing those at Oswego ; and for this purpose, on the 



i 



NATHAN TOWSON, OF MARYLAND. 39.') 

5th of May, Sir James Yeo proceeded with his whole fleet, and a I'orce 
of two thousand men under General Drummond, to storm the town. 
Colonel Mitchell, with little more than tliree hu7idred inexperienced sol- 
diers, defended the place for two days against this enormous superi- 
ority of force, and at length made good his retreat, leaving the plains 
of Oswego strewed with the bodies of his enemies. Thus, by the 
consummate skill and heroic valor of tliis truly Spartan band, was the 
object of the enemy defeated, and the public property saved, the loss of 
which would, in all" probability, have led to the fall of Sackett's Harbor, 
the capture of our fleet, and the destruction of the wdaole Niagara fron- 
tier. This gallant officer often expressed his regret at the necessity 
that separated him Irom Captain Towson, and his confident belief that, 
with the aid of his artillery, he would have been able to maintain his 
position at Oswego. While the army lay at Buflalo, under the com- 
mand of Brigadier General Scott, Captain Towson (who, at Scott's 
request, had been attached to his brigade) employed every available 
moment of his time in drilling his company. His original command 
had suftered so severely m the hard service and dangerous positions 
in which they had been employed, that it had been almost entirely 
changed as regards its personnel, by new recruits, and by men trans- 
ferred from other companies, so that it was almost wholly without dis- 
cipline. The orders of the commanding general will show how well 
he succeeded in introducing exact and perfect discipline. So great 
was the confidence of General .Scott in the judgment of the captain 
of artillery, that he permitted him to choose his position in the brigade ; 
and we have learned that neither that general, nor any other senior 
officer, ever found it necessary to give detailed instructions to Captain 
Towson on any occasion. An intimation of the thing to be done and 
of the general design was sufficient. 

When General Towson first entered the army of his country, he 
entertained the opinion, that whilst an officer was not the proper judge 
of his own merit and title to complimentary notice or promotion, yet 
when his conduct is by his superior officers esteemed meritorious, and 
so represented to the department, and a promise of brevet or promotion 
given, if the expectations thus raised are not duly met, the officer can- 
not, consistently with duty and proper self-respect, continue in the 
service. Entertaining this opinion, the incidents in his career, which 
we shall now mention, whilst they may awaken the regret of all who 
love even-handed justice, will not excite surprise, except it be at his 
generosity, forbearance, and devotion to the service of his country. 
This part of our narrative maj' be appropriately commenced with the 
following extract of a letter from General Winfield Scott, under whose 
command Captain Towson was at the time, dated Albany, .January 27, 
1814, and addressed to Captain Towson. Alluding to the contents of 
a former letter which had miscarried, he says : 

" In that letter I informed you of a conversation had with the Secre- 
tary of War upon the subject of the capture of the British vessels from 
under Fort Erie, and of the distinguished part which you l)ore in that 
enterprise. He thought you entitled to a brevet. This was on the 
way from Philadelphia to Baltimore. At Washington I recalled his 
attention to the subject in a strong written statement. I have no doubt 



396 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

that the commission will issue, and I trust without much further 
delay." 

With the assurance thus given, it is not matter of surprise that the 
chivalrous and sensitive mind of Towson was keenly affected with a 
sense of wrongs when, upon the arrival at the camp at Buffalo of a 
new register of the army, he discovered that no brevet appeared oppo- 
site to his name. He could do nothing else, accordant with that 
sentiment which is cherished by every high-minded soldier, than 
tender the resignation of his commission. Accordingly, he went to 
General Scott and made the tender, accompanied by a statement of his 
reasons. Scott could not but accord with the correctness of his views ; 
but, unwilling to lose from the service an officer whose science, expe- 
rience, and gallantry, could so illy be spared, he told him that a general 
had no power to accept of his resignation ; besought him to be patient 
and considerate ; but consented, at Towson's request, to forward his 
commission to Washington. Meantime, Captain Towson tendered his 
services to General Scott as a volunteer ; and the general assured 
him, in the event of his resignation being accepted, he would give him 
any command which he had power to confer. The resignation was 
never accepted, and Captain Towson continued to serve at the head 
of his company, and bore, as we shall see, a brilliant part in the stir- 
ring scenes that soon followed. He took a conspicuous part in the 
capture of Fort Erie, and the battle of Chippewa, and for his gallantry 
and valuable services in the latter was brevetted. Information of this 
brevet did not reach him until after the battle of Niagara, and pending 
the siege (by the British) of Fort Erie ; and, as no fulfilment of the 
promise made for his exploit in the capture of the Caledonia had 
been realized, he felt himself shut up to the necessity of declining his 
brevet for his conduct at Chippewa, until his preceding title should be 
recognized. The brevet Avas inclosed to General Gaines, then in 
command of Fort Erie ; who sent it, with his congratulations, to Cap- 
tain Towson. But the captain, acting upon the principles which wo 
have said he had adopted, returned the Brevet to General Gaines, in- 
forming him, that for the neglect of the department to fulfil the promise 
of a brevet on a former occasion, he had tendered his resignation, 
and would have to renew it, if that neglect was persevered in ; but 
that he was unwilling to leave the army in their then perilous circum- 
stances. General Gaines complimented him for the magnanimity of 
the last-mentioned determination, and expressed a hope that ample 
justice would ultimately be done. Knowledge of these circumstances 
coming to General Brown, under whose command Towson had covered 
himself with laurels at Chippewa and Niagara, that officer, without the 
knowledge of Captain Towson, wrote the following letter to the Se- 
cretary of War : — 

"Head-Quarters, Left Division, 
"Fort Erie, October 8, 1814. 

' To THE Hon. Secretary of War : 

" Sir, — I take the opportunity of writing to you, in behalf of an 
officer of this division, who, I fear, will shortly quit the army. His 
loss I should regret. Uniting science, courage, and skill, he has more 



NATHAN TOWSON, OF MARYLAND. 397 

than once been eminently distinguished in the field; and, adding to his 
other qualifications the most genuine modesty and the keenest sensibi- 
lity of I'celiiig, he has acquired, in a very high degree, the esteem and 
confidence uf his corps. The valuable oihcer to whom I allude is 
Captain Towson, of the artillery. His military talents appeared with 
the commencement of the war ; and at that early period he was dis- 
tinguished in the capture of the Adams and Caledonia from the enemy, 
on this lake. This gallant exploit was performed in conjunction with 
Captain Elliott of the navy, who took possession of the first, while 
Captain Towson boarded the latter, and brought her safely mto port. 
The modesty of Captain Towson forbade him to urge his pretensions ; 
but the government gave intimation that a suitable notice would be 
taken of this meritorious act. Upon this encouragement he grounded 
expectations which have never been realized, and the failure of which 
have been to him a source of constant mortification. He has re- 
mained, however, active and zealous in the service of his country. 
With new opportunity he has gained new laurels, and on the 5th of 
July last received from the government the brevet rank of major. But 
this to Captain Towson appeared an equivocal reward, calculated to 
cast into oblivion his former services, and to compromise his claims. 
The honorable feelings of Captain Towson prompted him to remain with 
this army while danger awaited it ; but as the enemy who threatened 
it is repulsed, the same feelings induce him to retire. 

" It remains. Sir, for you to preserve to the army an officer so highly 
meritorious ; and it is for that purpose I have enlarged so much upon 
the subject. It would be highly gratifying if some arrangement could 
be made that would place Captain Towson in a satisfactory situation. 

" Very respectfully. Sir, 

" Your obedient servant, 

" Jac. Brown." 

In consequence, as is supposed, of these representations, a letter 
was received from the adjutant-general, by Captain Towson, assuring 
him that, in a re-adjustment of the army which was contemplated, he 
should receive such promotion in the line as would more than compen- 
sate for the past apparent neglect of the department. Thus assured, 
and having reason to believe that it was rather from a reluctance to 
make too free with the brevet rank, than from indiflerence to his just 
claims. Captain Towson accepted the brevet of lieutenant-colonel, 
tendered him shortly afterwards, for meritorious conduct in the de 
fence of Fort Erie. But before Congress had effected the proposed 
remodeling of the army, and opened the way for the promised promo- 
tion, peace was made ; and although General Towson has received two 
brevets more than any officer in the army, his just expectations were 
not seasonably fulfilled. 

The campaign of 1814, upon the Niagara frontier, was by far the 
most brilliant of any of our northern operations during that war. But 
little save disaster had befallen our troops previous to this campaign. 
Nor 18 this to be wondered at. At the time of the declaration of war 
we were but little prepared for hostilities. We had been at peace for 
thirty years, if we except a few unimportant afi'airs with the Indian 



398 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

tribes. The military spirit that survived the Revohition had subsided, 
and the military science which that w^ar had left amongst our people 
had, to a great extent, died out or been forgotten. True, a military 
academy at West Point had been established ; but it was yet in its 
infancy, and but imperfectly furnished with the requisite appliances 
for imparting military instruction. To the few graduates who joined 
the army at the commencement of the war, were we chiefly indebted 
for what knowledge we possessed of the improvements in military 
science and art. On the other hand, our enemy had been practising 
imder the ablest generals, and in alliance or in conflict with the best 
instructed armies of Europe. Nor was this all. Our revolutionary 
leaders had nearly all passed away; and it required time and oppor- 
tunity to develop the military talent of the country. We had, it is 
true, our Browns and our Jacksons, but their names were unknown to 
the people. Not so the British army. War had been their trade for 
a quarter of a century ; its soldiers had been trained, and were led by 
the heroes of many a well-fought field. In view of these facts, it is 
not surprising that we should suffer disaster at the commencement. 
The wonder is that we did not become wholly discouraged, and seek 
an inglorious peace. But He who orders all things, and who had 
brought our country through so many perils, kindly ordained that love 
of country should prevail over these various causes of discouragement, 
and over mere mercenary considerations, and stimulate our soldiers to 
retrieve the disasters which attended the opening of the war. 

To this result no division of the army more gloriously contributed 
than that which defended the Niagara frontier, and invaded the Canadian 
peninsula. This division was first commanded in this campaign by Major 
General Brown, and was composed of Scott's and Ripley's brigades ; a 
battalion of artillery, under Major Hindman ; Harris' dragoons, a small 
detachment, and Towson's company of artillery, attached to Scott's 
command ; Porter's volunteers, and a few Indians joined, after the main 
body had crossed into Canada. 

It was arranged that the division should leave Buffalo Creek, which 
falls into the lake at the city of the same name, on the night of the 3d 
of July ; that Scott's command shoidd land upon the bank of the Nia- 
gara river, below Fort Erie, Ripley's brigade on the lake shore above 
the fort; and the volunteers, baggage, &c., cross at Black Rock, in 
Scott's returned boats. Captain Towson, aware that the quarter-mas- 
ter's department would not be able to furnish as much transportation as 
would be needed, took the precaution to have scows built, for carrying 
his artillery, by the artificers of his company. The remainder of the 
artillery, depending upon the quarter-master for means of transport, were, 
as might have been expected, in the then state of that department,and of 
the resources of the country, disappointed, and were compelled to wait 
until Towson's scows were brovight back by the quarter-master; of course 
it was late in the day before they could cross the Niagara ; and they did 
not participate, as did Towson's artillery, in the capture of Fort Erie. 

The boat carrying General Scott and staff", with a small detachment 
of infantry, and Towson's company of artillery, was in advance of the 
column. It was Scott's intention to land first, and make prisoners of 
the British picket, stationed a short space below the point of landing : 



NATHAN TOWSON, OF MARYLAND. 399 

and in his anxiety to be first on shore, lie leaped from the boat too soon, 
and came near being drowned. He, however, escaped with a thorough 
duckmg. 

After disembarking, the artillery took a position such as to place 
them at the head of the column when formed, and awaited its landing. 
Immediately after landing, the colunni proceeded to invest Fort Erie, 
which was summoned to surrender. Towson had planted his artillery in 
such a position as to aid in enforcing this summons ; but after firing a few 
shots, the garrison, commanded by Major Burke, obeyed the summons. 
Beside the commandant, several other oflicers, and one hundred and 
seventy men, marched out, surrendered themselves as prisoners of war, 
stacked their arms, and were sent across the river to the American 
shore. Thus was a fort, with a considerable amount of military stores, 
captured in a few hours, and without loss to the Americans. 

We must here mention an incident, which illustrates the bravery and 
devotion to the service of the men of Towson's command. His com- 
pany consisted of ninety-eight non-commissioned officers and privates, 
besides the usual number of commissioned officers, all of whom except 
one were reported for duty, and ready to take the field. That one, 
John Harrigan, had been sariously burnt, by the premature discharge 
of a blank cartridge, whilst ramming home, and had been sent to the 
hospital. John was considered too unwell to join the company, and 
when the roll was called, he was reported absent. " An' sure I'm here, 
Sir" — said John himself, stepping up to the captain. " Yes, John, but 
I fear notable to accompany us," replied his commander. " Well, Sir, 
if I dont feel able when we land, I can come back in the boats." Upon 
that condition the captain consented. As Towson's company was the 
only one of Scott's command that had a flag, he gave that in charge to 
Harrigan, and said, "John, I shall get the General's permission to hoist 
that upon the flag-staff" at Fort Erie when it surrenders." The cap- 
tain's anticipations, about the surrender of the fort, and the need for 
John's flag, proved to be correct ; and he was called upon to produce 
it. " An' sure. Sir, I haven't got it," said he. " And what did j^ou do 
with it?" " I laid it down, sir, over there in the field, where our first 
battery was formed ; you know I could do more good with the sponge 
and rammer in my hand, than carrying about wid me that bit o' striped 
cloth." A soldier was sent to look for John's despised " bit o' striped 
cloth ; it was found, and had the honor of being the first American 
flag hoisted by Brown's division in Canada. 

After the taking of the fort, Captain Towson had a fair opportunity, had 
he been disposed to embrace it, of retaliating the insult which was 
permitted to be offered to him by the Indians, at Newark, when under 
the protection of a flag. As he passed a group of our Indians, in com- 
pany with one of the British oflicers who had just surrendered, some 
of the Indians seemed disposed to treat the officer as Towson had been 
treated on the occasion before mentioned. But Towson promptly pre- 
vented it, and a guard was sent with the prisoner to the Ixtat that was 
to convey him over the river, with orders to protect him from Indian 
insult. 

Fort Erie being captured, a small garrison was detailed to keep 
possession of it ; and it was put under the command of that gallant 



400 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

officer, Lieut. McDonough, of Towson's company. The brave Mc- 
Donough subsequently fell in the defence of that fort during the siege. 
The remainder of the army moved down the Niagara, in the direction 
of Chippewa, the same afternoon. Next day they proceeded, and 
halted at Street's Creek, about a mile and a-half above where the Chip- 
pewa empties into the Niagara. The road from Fort Erie to Chip- 
pewa passes along the margin of the river, and crosses Street's Creek, 
by a bridge near its mouth. The planks had been removed from this 
bridge by the enemy, leaving the sleepers bare. There was a small 
house near the bridge, occupied by a British picket-guard. The river 
and the road make a sharp bend to the left, opposite to this house. All 
the guard were looking out of the back windows, at Scott's column ap- 
proaching. Towson's company was in advance, and himself in ad- 
vance of his company. As soon as his horse's tramp was heard by 
those in the house, they caught up their arms, and each, as he passed 
out of the door, levelled and fired at him. He was calling to the ad- 
vance guard of the column to hurry up ; and also offering easy terms 
to the enemy's picket, if they would surrender. But they did not 
comply with his request ; and as they effected a crossing over the 
naked sleepers of the bridge before our light troops came up, they es- 
caped. There were five or six of the guard still in the house as the 
captain rode up to the door, each of whom fired at him ; and it is most 
surprising that not one of their shots took serious effect, although he 
was not more than thirty or forty paces distant. Had the same num- 
ber of Americans fired at a British officer, the result, most likely, w'ould 
have been very different. It was not until the next day, that Captain 
Towson discovered that one of the balls had passed between the strap 
and the padding of his epaulette. 

On the next day, July 5th, was fought the important battle of Chip- 
pewa. Important, not so much on account of the numbers of troops 
engaged, as on account of the history and character of the several 
combatants, and the moral and military impn ssion produced by it in 
both armies, and upon both the hostile nations. The battle was fought 
upon a perfect plain, without any obstruction or intervening object 
between the two lines, except the creek, which our army had to cross 
in the face of the enemy. The forces engaged were the elite of the 
British and the American armies. The British having the advantage 
of numbers, offered battle, and were confident of success. The Ame- 
ricans, well drilled, but without experience in actual fight, accepted the 
offer. So far as an impartial spectator could judge, from appearances 
and probabilities, the English were likely to prove successful. 

The artillery of the British army consisted of two light twenty-four 
pounders ; that of the Americans, of two six-pounders. As soon as 
the British artillery reached what was supposed to be point-blank 
range, it commenced firing, and with remarkable precision ; the first 
shot disabling our howitzer, and throwing it out of action. At this mo- 
ment Scott's column was passing the bridge over Street's Creek, the 
planks having been replaced. It passed in quick time, Towson follow- 
ing, and j)romptly taking position on the right flank, at what he sup- 
posed to be the point blank distance of his six pounders, from the 
enemy's artillery. The fire of both batteries was destructive : but the 



NATHAN TOWSON, OF MARYLAND. 401 

contest did not continue long, before Towson blew up the enemy's 
ammunition wagons, with his shrapnell shells ; disabled and silenced 
their guns, and killed several of their horses. In this condition the 
British artillery was taken from the field, by their dragoons. At this 
juncture General Scott rode up and directed Towson's attention to the 
enemy's line, about to charge our own, and said, " I look to the artil- 
lery to prevent it." Towson's guns were immediately turned upon the 
advancing line of the enemy, and the direction of our fire being oblique, 
raked them with terrible effect. Jessup, advancing at the same time 
upon the English line, it broke and fled, pursued by the Americans un- 
til it crossed the Chippewa. 

The impression made upon our country by this battle, and its effect 
upon the morale of both armies, was very decided, and of the greatest 
advantage to our cause. It was now perceived that American soldiers, 
other things being equal, could meet and beat equal or greater numbers 
of the best European troops. In this instance, they had beaten supe- 
rior numbers, upon an open plain, without any advantages of position ; 
and that not by manoeuvring, but by stern, inflexible courage, and the 
superior accuracy of their fire. It was also proved that Americans 
could encounter superior numbers — nay, advance to meet them — when 
the weapon relied upon was the boasted British bayonet, and that with 
this, the favorite weapon of the English army, the unfaltering daring of 
our men could preserve unbroken lines, and compel veteran troops 
to leave the field, iVfter this battle, the prestige of the British bayonet 
was gone. General Scott deserves much credit for the precision and 
perfection of his drill, by which he prepared his brigade to meet the 
foe, in this sort of conflict. It gave his men confidence in their offi- 
cers and in each other ; but most of his success was attributable to the 
materiel of his command. Upon inferior men, animated by less lofty 
motives, his lessons would have been to a great extent lost. The com- 
manders of victorious armies often receive more than their share of 
praise : and this is especially true of an American army. The supe- 
rior intelligence, and the nobler and more patriotic impulses, of the 
men who fill our ranks, enhances the results of discipline. A general 
can see and order but a small portion of the army upon the battle 
field. Much must be left to the discretion of subordinates ; and the 
army that embraces the most intelligence, other things being equal, 
must prove victorious. Hence the importance of our national military 
academy. It has filled the country with persons qualified to instruct 
others in the art of war, and to lead them to battle. The late war with 
Mexico furnished abundant proof of this. What would our command- 
ers of volunteer divisions and brigades have done, without their Staffs, 
composed entirely of graduates of West Point, many of whom were 
qualified to command armies. 

The official report of the battle of Chippewa thus mentions Captain 
Towson's conduct : " The corps of artillery, under Major Ilindman, 
were not generally in action. This was not their fault. Captain Tow- 
son's company was the only one that had full opportunity of distin- 
guishing itself ; and it is believed that no company ever embraced an 
opportunity with so much zeal, or more success." General Wilkinson, 
who had been a soldier all his life, and was a well-read military scliolar, 

26 



402 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS^ 

says, " It was the good fortune of the gallant Towson to silence the 
enemy's battery." At this critical juncture, General Rial took the reso- 
lution which should have directed his conduct in the outset : he deter- 
mined to decide the contest with the bayonet, and commenced the 
charge ; when Towson, relieved from the pressure of the opposed bat- 
tery, found himself at leisure to turn his guns, and scour the adverse 
lines of the enemy with showers of canister. This oblique attack of 
the artillery, and the perpendicular fire of the American line, was in- 
supportable, and valorous troops yielded the palm and retreated precip- 
itately, leaving their killed and wounded on the field, but carrying off 
their artillery. Comparing small things with great, here, as at Minden,, 
the fate of the day was settled by artillery ; and the American Towson 
may deservedly be ranked with the British Phillips, Drummond, and Foy. 

Twenty days after the battle of Chippewa, was fought that of Niag- 
ara — sometimes also called Bndgewater and Lundy's Lane. It was 
General Brown's wish to follow up the victory of Chippewa before the 
enemy could concentrate his forces. He accordingly sent his wound- 
ed and heavy baggage to Schlosser ; and hearing, on the 25th of July, 
that the enemy had moved his whole force to Queenston, and was 
embarking a party for the purpose, as was supposed, of destroying oui 
stores at Schlosser, he ordered General Scott to make the movement 
which resulted in the battle of Niagara. 

It is a matter of surprise, that no official report of the early part oi 
this battle has ever been made. It was the hardest fought, and the 
most sanguinary conflict that occurred during that war. Both Gen- 
erals Brown and Scott evidently greatly underrated the strength of the 
enemy, who had taken a position at Lundy's Lane, near to, and opposite 
the Falls of Niagara ; at which point, as was afterwards learned, he 
was concentrating his troops, part of which had just reached Fort 
George from below. This ignorance of the enemy's force is severely 
criticised by General Wilkinson, in the review of this battle given in 
his memoirs ; and imder ordinary circumstances, it would have been 
unpardonable. Had General Drummond's reinforcements reached 
Fort George by way of Burlington Heights, General Brown would most 
likely have been fully informed, for his arrangements for intelligence 
were as perfect as possible. But Com. Chauncey refusing to permit our 
fleet to take the lake, because he was too unwell to command it him- 
self, gave the entire control of Lake Ontario to the enemy, and enabled 
Sir James Yeo to transport General Drummond, with reinforcements, 
to Fort George. Of this. General Brown could have no information, 
so that Wilkinson's criticism is unjust. Want of this information, 
however, had nearly proved fatal to the American army. Had Brown 
known the real force opposed to him, he ought not, and would not, have 
divided his own. He Avould not have ordered Scott to march on 
Queenston, and the latter would not have attacked Rial's army, had 
he known of the extent to which it had been reinforced ; nor would 
he have adopted those measures which Wilkinson censures so severely. 
The truth is, the Americans fought the battle believing the enemy to 
1)0 much weaker than he was ; he fought it believing us to be much 
stronger than we were. Scott supposed he was attacking the same 
force he had once already beaten, which, though superior to his own, had 



NATHAN TOWSOX, OF MARYLAND. 40i> 

learned to dread us. Had Drummond known the true state of things, 
he could have ended the contest at once, by an appeal to the bayonet. 
It was the intention of Lieut. Gen. Drummond to attack our army 
next morning (26th July) when it lay at Chippewa. But Gen. Brown, 
for the reasons already mentioned, ordered Scott to move on Queens- 
ton on the afternoon of the 25th, with such portion of his brigade as 
were not engaged in washing ; Towson's artillery, and a few dragoons 
under Captain Harris. No battle was expected, nor was it known that 
the enemy was at hand and in force, until Scott, at the head of his 
column, reached Mr. Wilson's house, well known as the " Falls house." 
Towson's artillery, as usual, was at the head of the column. As it 
approached the Falls house, some mounted British officers appeared at 
the door, but rode off. They were supposed to belong to a reconnoi- 
tering party, or at most to Rial's brigade, already beaten on the 5th. 
Scott rode up to Mrs. Wilson, then standing at the door, and questioned 
her: but not learning anything definite, rode forward. Captain Tow- 
son, who was with him, lingered at the door a short time, and heard 
her exclaim, " My God ! I'm afraid : I dare not speak ; but there will 
be an awful battle !" Towson rode on, and mentioned this to Scott, 
who had then reached the head of the column, where the artillery was 
emerging from the woods, which lay between Mrs. Wilson's and the 
field of battle. Scott immediately ordered the infantry to take the po- 
sition he intended it to occupy ; leaving Towson to station the artil- 
lery as he thought best. He had not time to unlimber his pieces, 
before the enemy's batteries, consisting of nine effective pieces, open- 
ed a most destructive fire upon his company, and Colonel Brady's regi- 
ment, which deployed in the same field. The enemy's batteries were 
advantageously posted on the apex of the hill : Towson, with only 
two six pounders and a howitzer, was at the bottom. Thus he fought 
at great disadvantage for an hour and a quarter, when General 
Brown and staff* came up. Major M'Crea, the engineer officer attached 
to the General's staff, came to Towson and said, " Captain, don't vou 
think your guns would do more execution if they were placed on yon- 
der elevation ?" pointing to one. " I have just left that," replied Tow- 
son, " and have tried every part of the field, but without being able to 
make an impression. Major M'Crea, that battery of the enemy must 
be carried, and it can only be done with the bayonet." The major 
concurred emphatically. " Then, for God's sake," continued Towson, 
" see the General, and recommend it." The credit of recommendino- 
this famous charge has been claimed for several officers. The facts, 
we believe, are as stated. General Brown says that Major M'Crea 
first suggested the charge to him.* This is true ; but it originated with 
Towson. The General saw at a glance the great importance — indeed 
the necessity of carrying the enemy's artillery ; and turning to Colonel 
Miller, asked, " Do you think. Colonel, you can carry that battery with 
the bayonets of the 21st?" To which the Colonel made the reply, as 

* The dispute which has existed in regard to this matter, it belongs not to us to 
settle. Colonel Miller, in his testimony before a court-marfial says, that it was 
General Ripley who gave him the order to charge. Both may bo true. Brown may 
have sent the order through Ripley, who vvac Miller's immediate superior. 



401 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

modest as it is memorable — " I'll try, sir !" (words afterwards worn 
on the caps of the 21st.) And most heroically did he execute the 
achievement. 

^lajor (now General) Jessup haA'ing turned the enemy's flank, and 
taken General Rial and several otficers and men prisoners, and Miller 
having stormed and taken their artillery, the British retreated, and our 
troops took possession of the same ground which the enemy had held, 
only facing, of course, a ditferent way. In this position Brown in- 
tended his army to remain through the night, Jessup's command forming 
•the right of our line ; the artillery, now reinforced by Ritchie's and 
Biddle's companies, the centre ; and Bishop's brigade the left. Gen- 
eral Brown's system of espionage, established between Montreal and 
Fort George, had, owing to some casualty, failed him, and, as we have 
shown, he was not informed of General Drummond's arrival in the 
peninsula with large reinforcements. And when General Rial was 
captured by Jessup, and his artillery by Miller's bayonets, Brown natu- 
rally concluded that the enemy's defeat was complete, for although he 
had heard that some troops had joined Rial, he supposed that they 
were but a few of the enemy's outposts called in to the main body. 
This mistake, as to the real force of the enemy, was general through- 
out our army, imtil near the close of the action. Drumniond, whose 
command had been reinforced from Europe and from Lower Canada, 
was moving with the intention of effecting a junction with Rial, and 
then attacking Brown at Chippewa ; and learning, on his arrival at 
Fort George, that a battle between Brown and Rial had commenced, 
he pressed forward to strengthen the latter, when he met Rial's forces 
retreating by the Queenston road. Rallying these, and uniting them 
with his own division, they formed an army of greatly superior numbers 
to Brown's, with which he returned to the battle ground, and took a 
position opposite to and parallel with the American lines. 

Whilst preparing this sketch, we had a personal interview with 
General Jessup, and received from him much information in regard to 
the scenes of that eventful night. One of these scenes we give, as 
nearly as we can recollect, in the words of that veteran : " Placed on 
the American right, I found a road which seemed to have been 
neglected by the enemy, and pursuing it, had little ditficulty in turning 
the enemy's left flank, and reaching his rear. Coming to the road 
which I supposed to be the one leading to Queenston, I despatched 
Captain Kctchum (a very good name by the by for the service on which 
I sent him) to reconnoitre, and do what might be demanded by circum- 
stances. In a few minutes he retin-ned with General Rial, and several 
officers and men, prisoners. Indeed, our prisoners soon outnumbered 
any force we had to guard them ; and, although the stern rules of war 
would have warranted our putting them to death, I had peremptorily 
forbidden the men to do it. General Rial was wounded, and asked 
for his parole, that he might return to his own surgeon and have his 
wounds dressed. I told him I had no power to grant a parole, and 
that he could reach one of our suroeons sooner than his own. Whilst 
this parley was in progress, I noticed some of our men using their 
knives upon the prisoners, and feared that they were putting them to 
death ; but upon calling to them to desist, I was told by them that 



NATHAN TOWSON, OF MARYLAND. 405 

they were merely cutting their suspenders, alleging, that ' if compelled 
to hold up their breeches with their hands, they could not run to make 
escape.' Whilst about detailing a guard to conduct General Rial to 
our camp, a British officer dashed up at speed, (it was dark you will 
remember,) and exclaimed, as he drew up beside General Rial, ' Gen- 
eral Rial, General Drummond is impatient for intelligence. ' You are 
a prisoner,' said one of my men, laying hold of his bridle rein. This 
was the first intelligence I had of Drummond's vicinity to the field of 
battle. At this moment, one of the officers who had been captured 
with Rial, thinking perhaps to carry the intelligence the other sought, 
wheeled his horse, and dashed off* at speed. ' Bring that man down,' 
said a corporal, with great promptness ; and in an instant both man 
and horse were dead. 

" ' As for General Towson,' continued General Jessup, ' never was 
there a braver, cooler, or more efficient officer. I had not an oppor- 
tunity of personally observing him that nisrht until after our line was 
re-formed on the ground previously occupied by the British, when I 
was immediately upon his right, and I had opportunity of witnessing 
his watchfulness, self-possession, and firmness in the most perilous 
circumstances. His behavior then and at all times was all that could 
be desired in an officer.' " 

We have in this place introduced this statement, quoted from memory, 
as illustrating the fact of the mutual ignorance, in both the contending 
armies, of each other's strength, and as containing the testimony of a 
fellow-soldier in regard to the subject of this memoir. 

General Drummond's approach to renew the conflict was conducted 
with such silence, the movements being directed by signal, that it was 
anperceived until he had taken position as above described. "When 
his column was within some one hundred paces of our line, it de- 
ployed, and moved up to within about half of that distance : yet on 
account of the darkness, and the atmosphere being loaded with the 
smoke of the battle, nothing could be seen distinctly, and a pause of 
about twenty minutes ensued without any movement. At this moment 
a sergeant of Towson's company made prisoner one of the British 
musicians, and leading him up to Towson, said, " Captain, do you see 
that dark line in front of us V " Yes, a fence, is it not ?" " No, sir, 
it is the English ; we have just taken this prisoner from it." The 
Captain, addressing the prisoner, inquired, " To what regiment do you 
belong ?" " To the 89th, sir." " You are deceiving me," said Tow- 
son ; " no such regiment has joined the British army." " Indeed there 
has, sir, the 89th and other forces came up this afternoon !" General 
Scott at this moment rode up to the artillery, and Captain Towson 
pointed out to him the dark line in front, and told him it was the 
enemy. Scott thought it impossible. " It is certainly so," said Tow- 
son ; " vpe have just taken a prisoner from them, and they are there, 
and reinforced." " What are they waiting there for. Captain ?" " They 
mean to receive our fire, and then charge our line, I presume, and we 
had better anticipate them." " Yes," said Scott, " I will charge in 
column, pass through their line, and turn their right flank." He then 
brought up from the rear the remnant of his brigade, except .Jessup's 
regiment (and a small remnant it was.) " Now," said Scott, " I shall 



406 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

move over this road, (meaning Lunrly's Lane,) and when I order the 
charge, let the artillery and the troops on the right of it commence 
firing !" This was done. Our fire was immediately returned by the 
enemy's whole line. Owing to some misunderstanding, produced in 
the darkness, Ripley's brigade also commenced firing, which placed 
Scott's column between that and the fire of the enemy's right. This 
was too terrible for men to endure who had already been so cut to 
pieces. The column broke ; Scott himself was severely wounded in 
the shoulder, and returned to the rear. Colonel Leavenworth collected 
all that survived of the column which Scott had led to the charge, and 
joined Jessup on the right. 

The fire of the American line was very destructive, although the 
line was much reduced. The artillery was particularly effective. 
Under the eflect of this fire the enemy again retired from the field. 
Captain Ritchie, who commanded one of the artillery companies, was 
badly wounded soon after joining. Captain Towson advised him to 
leave the ground, and return to Chippewa to have his wounds dressed ; 
but he refused. Major Hindman, taking Ritchie's horse by the bridle, 
and turning his head towards Chippewa, said, " I order you to return." 
" Then let my bridle go," said the Captain ; when, wheeling his horse 
round, he dashed his spurs into his sides, and rode up to his gun, which 
was somewhat in advance of our line. Here horse and rider were 
both killed. A British officer, who was wounded and taken prisoner 
in a subsequent action, and sent to our hospital, told Captain Schmuck 
that among the killed of the Americans found on the field, on the morn- 
ing after the battle of Niagara, was one, known by his dress to be a 
captain of artillery, whose body was pierced by 36 balls. It was 
undoubtedly Captain Ritchie, as he was the only artillery officer of 
that rank killed ; and as he fell upon the ground which was so fiercely 
disputed between the two armies, it is probable that his body received 
many wounds after he fell. 

Twice after this did. the enemy renew the struggle, but were as 
often repulsed. Generals Brown and Scott being both compelled by 
severe wounds to leave the field, the command devolved upon Brigadier 
General Ripley. Before Brown retired, the enemy had retreated, the 
firing had ceased, and our troops were in undisturbed possession of 
the field ; and before leaving the battle ground. Brown said, " General 
Ripley, I leave you in command. The victory is won. Secure the 
trophies ; remain until our wounded and the cannon are brought off, 
and then return to camp." As he passed Major Hindman and Captain 
Towson, who were superintending the removal of the artillery from 
the hill on which it had been stationed, into the road, preparatory to 
conveying it to camp, he informed them of the orders that had been 
given to Ripley. Said Towson to him, " General, the greater part of 
our horses are killed, or unable to draw, on account of wounds. Such 
as are fit for use have been sent to camp with guns, and ordered to 
return immediately." " That is right," replied Brown ; " get Ripley 
to let the infantry assist in bringing the artillery into the road ; he has 
orders to remain until that and the wounded are removed." On re 
turning to the hill, Towson met the infantry leaving it, and no assist- 
ance was obtained from them The artillery secured their own guns, 



N'ATHAX TOWSOX, OF 5r.VRYI.AXD. 407 

and one brass field-piece of the enemy's battery, and this is all that 
remains to our army of the hardly-fought and dearly-won battle of 
Niagara This piece was brought from the field by Lieut. Campbell, 
one of Towson's subalterns, and it is now at Grcenlcaf 's Point, Wash- 
ington City. 

When Captain Towson returned to camp at Chippewa, General 
Brown sent for him, and he repaired to the tent where the surgeon 
had just finished dressing the general's wound. The latter expressed 
much dissatisfaction at General Ripley, for having left the battle- 
ground before our wounded and the cannon were removed, and added, 
" I have ordered him to return as soon as his troops have received 
.some refreshment, and I wish General Porter, with his volunteers, and 
your company to return with him. Let your men get some refresh- 
ment as soon as possilde, and move on to the battle field, where you 
will remain until the trophies of victory are secured." This was about 
three o'clock in the morning. It is evident that the general expected 
our troops to regain the field before the enemy did, that is, between 
daybreak and sunrise. If this could have been done, Ripley's blunder 
in leaving it too soon might have been retrieved. Towson ordered an 
extra ration of whiskey to be given to his men, and so soon as those 
not wounded had obtained something to eat, he moved to the road 
where the column was to be formed, and placed his corps in the posi- 
tion he supposed it would occupy. No sooner were they in position, 
than the poor fellows, exhausted with fatigue, threw themselves upon 
the ground and slept, until they were joined by the other forces, which 
was not until after eight o'clock. The column moved on until it came 
in view of Mrs. Wilson's house, where the enemy was descried in 
position. A consultation was held, and it was concluded that it was 
too late to regain possession of the field ; and our troops returned to 
camp. 

Captain Towson's company suflfered much for want of medical 
attendance, the artillery having no surgeon, and the surgeons of the 
other troops having more than they could do to attend to the wounded 
of their own regiments. His subalterns were both wounded, and most 
of his non-commissioned officers either killed or wounded. Under 
these circumstances, he procured a surgeon belonging to the infantry 
to look at his subalterns and dress their wounds. The remainder of 
his wounded were put into a boat, sent up the river, and landed on the 
Canada shore, opposite Black Rock. Here they remained until his 
company reached Fort Erie, when he managed to take them over to 
Buffalo, and place them in the hospital there. But some of the poor 
fellows died of flesh wounds, mortification having ensued before they 
could be dressed. 

After the battle of Niagara, the armv retired to Fort I>rie. under the 
command of General Ripley. They left the camp at Chippewa about 
12 o'clock. General Ripley had serious thoughts of returning to Buf- 
falo, as our forces were much cut up, and the enemy strongly rein- 
forced. On this subject, he consulted separately Captain Towson and 
several of the field officers. To Towson he stated that he, Ripley, 
was placed in a very responsible situation. In command of the skel- 
eton of an army, that had gained reputation and fame for themscslves 



408 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

and country, that army had not been reinforced as it should have been, 
but was left to struggle, in an enemy's country, against superior num- 
bers of troops, better appointed than themselves in all the appliances 
of war. And although the army had surmounted all past difficulties, 
and had covered itself with glory, there seemed little prospect of being 
reinforced in season to prevent future disaster. He thought, therefore, 
there could be no loss of reputation in retiring before vastly superior 
numbers, and that it might be the part of both piiidence and duty to do 
so. He also added, " I am but a young general, and should this army, 
which has been led to victory by others, be beaten imder my command, 
it will be ascribed to want of ability in the commander, and not to the 
true cause, want of the requisite force and supplies." To this Towson 
replied, that he thought the general took too gloomy a view of the 
subject. It was true the enemy was greatly superior in numbers, and 
having command of Lake Ontario could reinforce at pleasure ; but it 
was evident, from his permitting us to send our wounded and baggage 
unmolested up the river, that he thought us too strong to trifle with. 
We could avail ourselves of the defences of Fort Erie, and strengthen 
them ; protect ourselves by entrenchments and traverses ; and could 
sustain a siege until relieved. That communication with Buffalo could 
be kept open by the lake, and we could retreat when compelled to do 
so. That our army could not be beaten but by superior numbers, and 
although it might be annihilated, it could not be disgraced. The offi- 
cers generally concurring in these views. General Ripley came to the 
determination of strengthening the fortifications and withstanding a 
siege. 

Towson had permission to select his position, and he chose the left 
flank, where it was supposed the main attack would be made, if the 
enemy should attempt to carry the works by assault. This was, of 
course, the post of danger and of honor. The place on which his 
battery was erected was called by the British Snake Hill, and was a 
mound of sand of some twenty feet elevation, and of sufficient width 
for a platform on which two six-pounders, a howitzer, and an eighteen 
pounder could be placed, with just sufficient room for the men to work 
them. This mound was shaped to a quadrangle, and embankments 
thrown up, composed of two walls of inverted sods, slightly sloped, 
filled in with sand. This battery was directed, in general orders, to 
be called Fort Towson ; but a particular friend of Towson, Captain 
Williams, being killed in the assault on the 15th of August, Towson 
requested, as a personal favor, that the battery might bear the name of 
his friend ; and it was so called. But the enemy denominated it 
" the. Lighthouse,^'' on account of the constant blaze of light emitted from 
its four guns during the assault, which four the enemy, in his official 
report, had multiplied to fiinc. 

Towson's company, reduced at the time of retiring to Fort Erie, to 
forty-five men, were excused, in consideration of past services, and that 
thev might be fresh if attacked in the night, from all fatigue duty on the 
works. As the spot on the west side of his battery was protected from 
the enemy's fire, by its high embankment, it offered a secure and plea- 
sant place for the company to rest in the day-time. And the invalids 
of the camp generally repaired to it ; not being certain that, if they lay 



NATHAN TOWSON, OF MARYLAND. 409 

down in their own tents, they would rise with their heads upon their 
shouklers. Of course, " Towson's light-house" was quite in favor with 
the army ; and many a good story was told, many a jovial song sung, 
and not a little whiskey drunk under its protection ; which, but for it, 
had never been enjoyed. 

The army had been but a few days at Fort Erie, until the enemy 
approached, and took a strong position opposite Black Rock, and about 
two miles from the fort. General Gaines arrived and assumed com- 
mand, on the 4th of August. From the time of the enemy's approach, 
up to the period of his final repulse, there was a war of pickets, and 
other hostile operations, not necessary here to detail, but in which 
many an act of bold daring was performed. 

Fort Erie was at that time surrounded by a thick wood, approaching 
to within the average distance of 1,000 yards of the works. The 
enemy established his batteries in the edge of this wood. As the in- 
tervening open space was traversed by a number of ravines, our light 
troops would creep along these, to discover how our enemy were pro- 
gressing ; and these exploits would be attended with more or less 
tiring. Our killed and wounded would be brought off under cover of 
these ravines. Theirs, if they fell outside cf the wood, were suffered 
to lie. A proposal was made at one time for a cessation of hostilities, 
to enable each army to bury their dead. After Brown's sortie, the enemy 
retired, and left the United States troops in possession of this often 
contested ground ; when several dead soldiers, in different stages of 
decay, were found. 

Pending the siege, the British increased the number of their bat- 
teries, extending them to the right, under cover of the wood. The 
last one was about six hundred yards from Towson's, and was com- 
pleted and ready to open upon him, the next morning after the incident 
now to be related, occurred. General George M. Brooke (then major) 
was officer of the day ; and, in visiting the picket, he discovered the 
new battery, and the state of forwardness it was in. Returning to 
camp, he communicated the information to Towson, and added, " if 
you think proper, I Avill give you an opportunity to anticipate the fire 
of the enemy's new battery ?" '• How ?" "I will take a dark lantern 
the first time I go the grand rounds this evening, and hang it upon one 
of the trees on a line between your battery and his, the door of the 
lantern will bi; open on the side next you, and you can direct your guns 
by it." " Capital ! capital !" said Towson, " but it will be a very peri- 
lous undertaking." " I'll do it," said the major, gaily, " it will please 

," naming his lady-love. The lantern was suspended, and the fire 

of Towson's battery directed by it, but with what effect was never 
known. 

It was perhaps in return for this favor, that Brooke felt justified in 
laying Towson's patience and property under contribution, by the ruse 
which we will now relate. 

Before the army entered Canada, the captain being sick, had passed 
a fortnight at a public house, on the American shore of the lake, a lit- 
tle west of Bufialo, kept by a Mr. Goodrich, and had formed an ac- 
quaintance with his family. To this place the officers, who had more 
horses than they wanted during the siege of Fort Erie, sent them to 



410 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

be pastured ; changing them Avhen necessary. On such occasions, the 
servants who were sent across the lake with the horses would procure 
vegetables, and occasionally a chicken or a duck, from the farmers who 
lived near to Goodrich : paying, of course, exorbitant prices. One day 
during the siege, Brooke sent a formal invitation to Towson, request- 
ing the honor of his company at dinner, with a few friends. " Please 
to bring your knife, fork and spoon with you," said the note, and the 
major will be obliged by the loan of any other articles of table furni- 
ture the captain may have." The invitation was too tempting to be 
refused, and a formal acceptance was returned. When dinner was 
served, Brooke's guests were curious to know how he had been so for- 
tunate as to obtain the means of entertaining them so handsomely. "0 ! 
my servant procured them when he went to Goodrich's to change the 
horses. He can tell you the particulars ; but we'll not call for them 
till we've dined." None but those who have lived for a long time on 
camp fare, during a siege, can tell how much Brooke's fare was re- 
lished. Chicken-,pie reminded his guests of home, and the days of 
boyhood. Dessert was omitted, and Tom was called upon to tell how 
he had obtained the chickens and vegetables that formed so important 
a part of the meal. Tom began to fumble in his pockets. " I'm afraid 
I've lost it," stammered he. " Lost it — lost what ?" " Mr. Goodrich's 
paper, — no — here it is," pulling out a dirty, crumpled looking paper, and 
handing it to the major. " Why, Tom, this is not for me — 'tis for Cap- 
tain Towson." " Its the paper Mr. Goodrich gave me ; he said the 
captain must excuse it, as he had no other to write upon, and no wafers 
to seal it with." The paper contained a list of eatables which Mr. 
Goodrich had sent to Captain Towson, by Tom, and on which the 
major had levied black mail. " Why," said the captain, looking sternly 
at Tom, " Why were not these articles and this paper brought to me V 
•' I obeys orders, sir," said Tom, casting a glance at the major, and rais- 
ing himself erect in the attitude of a soldier. Captain Towson turned it 
oft", by remarking, " it is a pity, since the major has taxed me so heavily 
to furnish out the dinner, that he did not go a step further, and borrow 
the safe spot under my battery to set the table ; as we might then have 
dined without the liability to have our dishes disturbed by the enemy's 
shot." No accident occurred, however, during the dinner, and it was 
not enjoyed witli the less gusto, on account of the major's and Tom's 
black mail. 

We hav^e obtained copies of a correspondence that passed between 
General Towson and the late General Belknap ; the officer (then a 
lieutenant) in command of the picket on Towson's left flank, the night 
of the assault on Fort Erie. And as it gives a correct and concise de- 
scription of that part of the action in which the parties were engaged, 
we shall quote the letters without alteration. 

" Newburg, June I4fh, 1841. 

" General : — When I was at Washington city, I had a conversation 
with you on the subject of the defence of Fort Erie, on the 15th of 
August, 1814. Believing that due credit was never given to the troops 
that acted on the left flank of the army on that occasion where the 
attack commenced, I am induced, from the conspicuous part you bore 



NATHAN TOWSON, OF MARYLAND. 411 

in the action, by the prompt and rapid manner in which you served 
your artillcrv, and to wliich wan mainly owing the defeat of the enemy, 
to request vou to communicate to me your recollections of the aflair, 
particularly such part of it in which, to your knowledge, I was engaged 
" I am. General, 

" With great respect, 

" Your obedient servant, 

'^ W. G. Belknap. 
•' Brigadier-General N. Towson.*' 

" To :\Iajor W. G. Belknap : 

" Dear Sir : — I willingly comply with your request, and will state 
my recollections of your conduct in the assault on Fort Erie, the 15th 
August, 1814. My company was stationed on the left flank of the 
intrenchment. Mv battery, posted on a small eminence called Snake- 
hill, commanded the pass between the margin of Lake Erie and the 
woods for a short distance. As the enemy was well acquainted with 
our imperfect defences, and as that was the most assailable point, it 
was evident, in the event of an attack, that his main ctlbrt would be 
to carry this flank, and that nothing but untiring vigilance and good 
conduct, on the part of all interested in its defence, could prevent his 
succeeding. 

" As the column of attack w^ould not have to pass more than four 
hundred yards after it debouched from the woods before it reached the 
battery, it was of the utmost importance that the picket, stationed at 
this point to give notice of its approach, should perform that duty, not 
onlv with promptness, but in such way as to leave no doubt of the 
advance and intention of the enemy. 

" It was my practice every evening after tattoo to form the men at 
their guns, and to make each individual lie down on the ground he 
was to occupy in battle, that no time might be lost in forming on an 
alarm. The guns w-ere always ready-shotted, and I could at any time 
have discharged the whole battery in ten seconds after the alarm was 
given. I always arranged, with the officer of the day, that the picket 
should, immediately after giving the alarm, retire by a pathway along 
the edge of the wood, as the least exposed, and to inform the officer 
commanding the guard, that a short time only could be allowed him to 
get out of the way before the battery would open. I mention these 
facts because they show the great responsibility resting upon the offi- 
cer commanding the guard, and the imminent danger to which he and 
his command were exposed. I Avell recollect the anxiety I felt on 
seeing vour guard march past mv battery to its station, on account of 
the apparent youth of its commander. But the event showed that I 
had no cause for uneasiness, and that a better selection, for that duty, 
could not have been made. 

'* Between two and- three o'clock, on the morning of the 15th of 
August, the approach of the right column of the enemy, nearly two 
thousand strong, commanded by Colonel Fischer, was discovered by 
you, and the discovery announced to our armv bv several volleys from 
your guard. Their regularity and the repetition of the discharge con- 



412 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

vinced me that there could be no mistake ; that the enemy was ad- 
vancing in force, and that no time should be lost in checking him. 
This was to me the most perplexing moment of mv military life. 
Every minute's delay in firing jeopardized the whole army. On the 
other hand, it was next to an impossibility for the guard to have per- 
formed, in such gallant style, the duty assigned to it, and have gotten 
out of the way in the time agreed upon. The inevitable consequence 
of an immediate discharge from my battery, under such circumstances, 
would be the destruction of the gallant troops that had so faithfully 
performed their duty. There was, however, no time to deliberate. I 
hope I acted correctly in endeavoring to save the army at the hazard 
of your guard. The result you know. The number that suffered was 
less, in consequence of the elevation of the guns, for the purpose of 
firing over them. Notwithstanding the prompt action of my battery, 
the advance of the enemy reached our works as soon as your guard ; 
and I believe you received a bayonet wound before, or immediately 
after, you had gained your position on the extreme flank. Had their 
column not been broken, the most disastrous consequences might have 
followed. In conclusion, I will remark, that I have never known a 
case, in which the officer, intrusted with a guard, had more important 
or more hazardous duties to perform than were committed to you that 
night. Few would have discharged them so well, and none could 
have done better. 

" Respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" N. TowsoN." 

The assault and defence of Fort Erie was one of the sternest con- 
tests of the war. The assault was made about two in the morning, 
with numbers superior to the Americans, and of the best appointed 
troops ; and both by the enemy and our own troops many deeds of 
heroism were performed, Avhich cannot be mentioned here. 

The part borne by our hero in repelling this fierce assault, is attested 
in the most complimentary terms by the commanding-generals, Gaines 
and Ripley, the latter of whom commanded the left flank, where Tow- 
son was stationed. 

Says General Gaines, in his official report, " The night was dark, 
and the early part of it rainy, but the faithful sentinel slept not : one- 
third of the troops were up at their posts. At half-past two o'clock, 
the right column of the enemy approached, and, although enveloped in 
darkness, black as his designs and principles, was distinctly heard on 
our left, and promptly marked by our musketry under Major Wood, 
and the cannon under Captain Towson. Being mounted at the moment, 
I repaired to the point of attack, where the sheet of fire rolling from 
Towson's battery, and the musketry of the left wing of the 21st Infantry, 
under Major Wood, enabled me to see the enemy's column of about 
1,500 men approaching on that point ; his advance was not checked 
until it had approached within ten feet of our infantry. Towson's 
battery emitted a constant sheet of fire." Again he adds : 

" Major Hindman, and the whole of the artillery under the command 
of that excellent officer, displayed a degree of gallantry and good con- 
duct not to be surpassed. The particular situation of Captain Towson, 



I 



NATHAN TOWSON, OF MARYLAND. 413 

and the much-lamented Captain Williams, and Lieut. McDonough, and 
that of Lieut. Watmough, as already described, with their respective 
commands, rendered them most conspicuous." 

General Ripley says : " On the first tire of the picket. Captain 
Towson opened his artillery upon the enemy from Fort Williams in a 
style which does him infinite credit. It was continued with very great 
effect upon the enemy during the whole action." And in another part 
of his report, he says : " I cannot refrain from adverting to the manner 
in which Captain Towson's artillery was served ; I have never seen 
it equalled. This officer has so often distinguished himself, that to 
say simply that he is in action, is a volume of eulogium ; the army, 
only to be informed that he is there, by a spontaneous assent, are at 
once satisfied that he has performed well his part. I have no idea 
that there is an artillery officer in any service superior to him in the 
knowledge and performance of his duty." The fire of Towson's artil- 
lery and of the 21st Infantry, was so terrible and destructive, that the 
British column, alter four efforts to rally and advance, at length broke 
and fled ; and the victory was early and effectually completed upon 
this wing, which facilitiyed the ultimate repulse of the foe, as aid was 
despatched to the right to strengthen our troops in that quarter, who 
were sorely pressed. The British were compelled to retire to their 
camp with great loss — nine hundred and fifteen men in killed, wounded, 
and missing. The Americans lost eighty-four. 

On the 2d of September, General Brown again took command at 
Fort Erie. The British receiving continual reinforcements, renewed 
their efforts, and again pushed their batteries close upon the fort, and 
rendered them formidable. General Brown, for the purpose of check- 
ing and crippling the enemy, conceived the bold idea of a sortie for 
the destruction of his batteries. The British force consisted of three 
brigades of about fifteen hundred men each : one of which, alternately, 
was stationed at the batteries ; while the other two remained at 
the camp. The object of the sortie was to surprise the brigade on 
duty, defeat or capture it, and destroy the batteries before the others 
could come to its aid. The success of the enterprise is well known to 
the country and to the world. On the 9th of October, Major-General 
Izard arrived from Plattsburg, with his division of 5,000 men, to re- 
lieve the besieged army, but found that they had relieved themselves 
by the brilliant affair just described, and that the enemy had retired. 
Izard determined to follow him, and try to bring him to action. He 
found him prepared to disj)ute the passage of the Chippewa. The de- 
fences at that place had been strengthened by the construction of re- 
doubts, and by extending a breastwork along the creek, on the side 
of the village, to a distance sufficient to cover their infantry and light 
troops ; and also, by a work on the opposite side of the creek, defended 
by artillery. Upon reconnoitering the enemy's lines, it was discovered 
that his artillery was in position, but that there was no appearance of 
any other troops ; and this, with certain movements observed in 
the village, created an impression that he was about to abandon the 
post. In his letter to the Secretary of War, General Izard says, 
" some of my officers were induced to believe that the enemy were 
evacuating the post, and Major-General Brown was of this opinion. 



414 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

To ascertain the fact, which seemed to me incredible, in the apparent 
state of their works, I order(>d the whole of my little train, consisting 
of Towson's and Archer's companies, the former three six-pounders and 
one five and a-half inch howitzer, the latter, two eighteen-pounders, to 
advance and fire on their batteries. Nothing coukl be more gallant 
than the proceeding of this little band. They advanced through the 
open ground, in full view of the enemy's batteries, of twenty-four and 
twelve-pounders ; formed the line without any cover whatever, and 
commenced a cool and correct cannonade, which was immediately an- 
swered by their adversaries. The vast superiority of our artillerists 
was discernible by the most inexperienced eye. Every shot told. 
One of the enemy's batteries was silenced. The intended effect was 
produced ; and it was plain that, so far from abandoning their posts, 
the British Avere in strength, and superior in number of guns and 
weight of metal. The firing continued till dusk, when I directed our 
pieces to be withdrawn for the night. Two deserters, that came over 
this morning, state that considerable execution was done, in the battery 
m which they were posted, on the hither side of the creek. On our 
side, we lost but four men killed ; none wouftded but Major S. Lush, 
army judge advocate." 

General Towson was the senior officer of artillery with Izard's army, 
and commanded both companies. In this contest, the enemy not only 
had more guns, and heavier metal than Towson, but also a decided ad- 
vantage in being protected by a breastwork ; while his artillery was 
exposed, on an open plain, without any covering. To ascertain whe- 
ther any of the enemy's troops were concealed behind the breastwork 
on the margin of the creek, Towson determined, after silencing their 
batteries, to reconnoitre that position from the opposite bank, and for 
that purpose rode rapidly along it within musket range of the embank- 
ment. This drew from the concealed troops an irregular fire the 
whole extent of the line, resembling a feu de joie ; and satisfied Ge- 
neral Izard that it would be hazarding too much to attempt to cross the 
Chippewa in the face of such a force. 

One of the four Americans, killed in this affair, was the orderly ser- 
geant of Towson's company ; the son of a gallant soldier of the old Mary- 
land line, of the revolutionary army. In youth the sergeant was the 
playmate of his future Captain. When war was declared, among the 
first to join his standard was Sergeant Steeds, than whom a braver or 
a better soldier never presented arms. This, Avith one exception, was the 
closing scene of the war on the Niagara frontier ; and with that ex- 
ception, it is believed, the first and the last blood shed on that frontier 
flowed from Towson's company. 

General Izard, deeming further oftensive operations inexpedient, de- 
stroyed Fort Erie, and on the 20th of October, evacuated Canada, and 
distributed his troops at the posts of Buffalo, Black Rock, and Batavia, 
where the tidings of peace found them. 

At the close of the war, General Towson was assigned to the com- 
mand of the troops in the harbor of Boston. Whilst stationed there, 
in 1816, he was married to Sophia, daughter of Caleb Bingham, Esq., 
of that city, a lady of eminent beauty and accomplishments, with 
whom he lived happily, until her death, at Washington, in 1852. He 



NATHAN TOWSON, OF MARYLAND. ^\^ 

was afterwards stationed at Newport, R. I., but we do not look for 
much that is of special historical interest in the life of an officer in a 
peace establishment. 

On the death of the paymaster-general, Robert Brest, in 1819, 
General Towson was appointed to succeed him, and came to Wasli- 
ington in the September of that year. 

The paymaster's department is one of the largest di.sbursing agen- 
cies of the government ; and it is a very impressive commentary upon 
the integrity, watchfulness, system, and business ability of General Tow- 
son, that, during the thirty-four years of his being at the head of this de- 
partment,more tlian seventy-nine millions of dollars have been disbursed 
all over the Union, and in Mexico and California, without loss to the 
government, except in a single instance, and that in the case of a sub- 
ordinate, who had been appointed in oppositioii to General Tovvson's 
protest. It has been, perhaps, too much the tendency of public senti- 
ment in our country, whilst it accords due praise to brilliant military 
achievements, to under-rate civil services, that may be of equal or even 
greater value to the country, and which cost the persons who render 
them equal or greater toil and self-denial. Brilliant and valuable as 
General Towson's services undoubtedly were in the tented and the 
embattled field, his biographer is of opinion, that in the quiet and unos- 
tentatious administration of the important branch of the service com- 
mitted to his care, for the last thirty-four years, his labors have been 
of equal, or even greater importance to the safety and prosperity of his 
country, and to the great interests of liberty and civilization. The man 
who, with strong arm and dauntless courage, rolls back the tide of bat- 
tle, and defends his country from an invading foe, does well — he ought 
to be honored and revered. And the man who, by unflinching probity, 
unflagging industry, and business talent, and address, saves the internal 
government of his country from corruption, her treasury from pecula- 
tion, and her departments from that immorality which successful fraud 
is sure to foster, does, perhaps, a greater work, and deserves equally 
well of his country. General Towson has done both. We have seen 
him on the battle field — a thunderbolt in war. Let us look in upon 
him, in the quiet seclusion of the Avar-ofiice, an important arm of the 
cabinet — and see if we do not there discover equal proofs of ability, 
skill, probity, patriotism, and high-toniul moral courage. The fatlier of 
a system so well adjusted, and so perfect in its checks and balances, as 
that of our present pay department ; the man who has proved to the 
country and to the world, that corruption ca7i be excluded in a Re- 
public from the management of the military disbursements, has done 
a great work for his country and for civil liberty. And in looking 
at the history of this part of his life, the philosophic reader will soon 
4etect, in his management of the pay department, the same cool forti- 
tude — the same promptness and decision — the same rapid, yet wise de- 
sign, and the same energy of execution, which characterised the youth- 
ful conqueror of the Caledonia. 

At the time of his entrance upon the duties of the office, which 
employed the larger portion of his active life, the pensions of widows 
and orphans of volunteers, who died in service, or of wounds received 
in service, were paid through the paymaster-general's office. Very 



i 



416 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

extensive frauds had been perpetrated upon the government, principally 
by parties in Tennessee, under pretext of collecting such pensions ; 
and they were effected by means of forged papers. The authors of the 
frauds having, by means unknown, obtained from the rolls filed in the 
auditor's office, the names of all persons whose widows or children, if 
any survived, would be entitled to pensions, traversed the State, and 
ascertained who of the volunteers had died without leaving widows or 
children, and forged papers in all such cases. It was required that 
the identity of the pensioners should be established by the oaths of 
disinterested persons, taken before magistrates or others authorized to 
administer oaths, which fact must be certified by the clerk of the 
county in which the magistrate resided, with the seal of the county 
affixed. If the facts stated in the papers as to time and place of 
death, length of service, name of captain, &c., corresponded with the 
remarks on the muster roll, nothing more was required to identify the 
claimant. This the forgers were enabled to accomplish, by obtaining, 
before the affidavits were made, clerk's certificates that certain persons 
were duly authorized to administer oaths. These certificates were 
attached to forged papers, and forwarded to agents in Washington, 
who were authorized to receipt for the sums to be paid. These frauds 
were extensively practised while Mr. Brent presided over the depart- 
ment, and were continued after General Towson's appointment. The 
frauds were discovered in the following way : The agent in Washing- 
ton left a number of claims at the office to be examined, and was to 
call for settlement at a future day. Some of the claims were imme- 
diately examined, and the amounts, believed to be due, transmitted 
directly to the widow, instead of paying it to the agent. The letter 
was inclosed to the postmaster of the town from whence the claim 
came, informing him what it contained, and requesting him to have it 
delivered, as the widow, not expecting a letter, might not inquire for 
one. The return mail brought the postmaster's answer — " that there 
must be some mistake — that no such Avidow lived in that vicinity — 
that he knew the volunteer who died, as was stated, but he was an 
unmarried man up to the hour of his death." A clear case of fraud 
was here detected. The Washington agent was sent for, and the 
postmaster's letter shown to him. He alleged that the claims had 
been sent to him for collection, and that he believed them to be cor- 
rect ; that the persons who sent them requested him to retain the 
money for a few days, when they would call for it. General Towson 
arranged with the agent that he should bring the forgers to the pay 
department, when the general would have them arrested and examined. 
Judge Thurston, of the United States District Court, and a peace offi- 
cer, were in attendance to make the arrest, and conduct the examina- 
tion. The forgers came, were arrested, but took the ground that, if 
fraud had been committed, they were ignorant of it, having only made 
out the papers from the statements of the parties claiming. After a 
tedious examination, the judge came to the conclusion that the evi- 
dence was not sufficient to justify a commitment, and was about to 
discharge the prisoners, when it was suggested that there might be 
evidence with their baggage which was at Brown's Hotel. This was 
sent for ; and a valise and two saddlebags were produced, which con- 



NATHAN TOWSON, OF MARYLAND. 411 

tained claims in different stages of preparation, clerk's certificates, 
•with the county seals ready to be attached, &c. The judge deemed 
the evidence sufficient. They were committed, tried, and sent (o the 
penitentiary. This broke up the Tennessee gang of forgers, but not 
until they had defrauded the government out of some 70,000 dollars. 

The army was, by the act of 1821, reduced to 6,181 men. It 
was under this act that Mr. Calhoun, then Secretary of War, gave to 
the country his famous plan of a " skeleton army," for a peace estab- 
lishment ; to be enlarged, when needful, by volunteers. Of how much 
value that plan has proved, the success of the United States army in 
Mexico, may attest ; as that army was formed upon the basis of his 
scheme. Mr. Calhoun, in devising it, consulted the principal officers 
of the staff at Washington, in regard to its details, and General Tow- 
son among the rest. 

In selecting and arranging officers for the reduced army, the Board 
of officers who performed that duty assigned General Towson to the 
command of a regiment of artillery, and transferred to the office from 
which he was removed, the adjutant-general. This was done during 
the recess of the Senate ; but when that body met, it disapproved of 
these transfers, and restored General Towson to the pay department, 
to which he returned in 1822. At the head of this depcirtment he 
continues till the present (May, 1853) ; and the manner in which he has 
discharged its responsible duties, and the appreciation of his services 
by Congress, will be shown by the following extract from a report of 
the Committe on Military Affairs, in 1850. 

Mr. Evans, from the Committee on Military Affairs, made the fol- 
lowing report : 

The Committee on Military Affairs deemed it their duty to inquire 
into the manner in which the large appropriations for the war Avith 
Mexico were disbursed by the pay department ; and, with this pur- 
pose, addressed a communication to the head of that department. The 
report of this distinguished and venerable officer exhibits a degree of 
probity, fidelity, and accuracy, which is eminently creditable to its 
officers, and is likewise a source of just prifJe to the country. The 
sum of twenty-four million one hundred and sixteen thousand one hun- 
dred and thirty-eight dollars was received by the pay department, and 
distributed amongst thirty-five officers. Of that sum not a dollar was 
lost by accident, robbery, theft, capture, transportation, or in any man- 
ner whatever. Regarding the accidents and perils incident to a state 
of war, and the hazards of the camp and the march, it is believed that 
this result finds no parallel in the history of disbursements so large. 
It is the result of the admirable system which the sagacity of the en- 
lightened and experienced officer at the head of that department has 
introduced and perfected, no less than of the judicious selection of its 
officers. The entire sum above specified has been expended, except 
nine thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight dollars and forty-four 
cents, which consists, with the exception of two thousand one hundrcid 
dollars, of items suspended, disallowed, or rejected by the accounting 
officers of the treasury, in the settlement of the accounts of paymasters 
who died, resigned, or were disbanded. This latter amount is secured 
by ample bonds. The sum of two thousand one hundred dollars, which 



418 SKETCHES OF EMINt:MT AMERICA M3. 

constitutes part of the nine thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight 
dollars and forty-four cents, is alleged to have been erroneously 
charged to one of the paymasters, who received, without counting some 
boxes of specie from the Bank of St. Louis. 

Since 1820, nearly eighty millions have been disbursed, with simi- 
lar exactness and exemption from loss. Well might the Committee of 
Congress declare, that " this result finds no parallel in the history of 
disbursements so large." 

It may be of importance to the country that the process, by which 
a residt so highly satisfactory was attained, should be known ; and we 
therefore place on record the following communication from General 
Towson to the Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, which 
explains the simple yet efficient expedient by which he guarded the 
public service against defalcation. 

" Paymaster-General's Office, 

" Washington, January 11, 1853. 

" My Dear Sir : — On looking over a report I had the honor to 
make to the Secretary of War, Mr. Cass, on the 13th of November, 
1832, on the subject of re-organizing the pay department, I find that 
I reported against it, and recommended a few alterations ; all of which 
have since been authorized by Congress. 

" It has occurred to me that, as to the method pursued with paymas- 
ter's accounts before turning them over to the accounting officers, is to 
be ascribed the exemption of the department from losses form any 
years past, especially during the war with Mexico, it would not be 
amiss to communicate it to the Military Committee, of which I per- 
ceive you are a member, particularly as it was adopted on my recom- 
mendation and responsibility, and is not required by law ; neither is it 
practised in any other of the military disbursing offices. 

" The act of the 20th April, 1818, provided eight clerks for the 
office of the paymaster-general ; these were continued until 1821, 
when that number was reduced to three, but the act was never re- 
pealed, and their services have been put in requisition from time to 
time, as wanted.* 

" It was the practice of the department, as far back as its records 
date, and for several years after my appointment as paymaster-general, 
when the accounts of paymasters were received, to acknowledge the 
receipt and pass them to the accounting officers of the treasury, in 
whose offices they are examined in the order received, and when set- 
tled, the disbursing officer is furnished a list of differences between his 
statement and the settlement made at the treasury. While Mr. Cal- 
houn was Secretary of War, the accounting officers were required to 
transmit their statements of differences to paymasters through the 
paymaster-general ; this kept him informed of the official balances 

* It appears from the records of the office that there were three clerks in 1821 ; 
the number was increased, in 1837, to four ; in 1840, to five ; in 1846, to seven ; 
and in 1848, to eight. The business of the office had accumulated much before the 
close of the Mexican war ; but by employing the paymasters and their clerks ths* 
were waiting discharge, we were enabled to get through it by the time stated. 



NATHAN TOWSON, OF MARVLAND. 419 

due by paymasters, and made him responsible for the speedy settle- 
ment thereof. Some time after the appointment of Major W. B. Lewis 
to the office of second auditor of the treasury, he took it into his head 
that it was derogatory to his office to have its business examined by 
the paymaster-general, and claimed the right to correspond officially 
with the paymaster direct. This presented a serious difficulty to the 
settlement of disallowances, deprived me of the opportunity of giving 
explanations that might remove suspensions, and greatly embarrassed 
the office. As the examination of accounts in the auditor's oflico was 
frequently years behind, the balance lists furnished paymasters by no 
means enabled them to recover sums improperly paid ; many persons 
receiving having died or left the service before the paymaster knew 
the account was disallowed. This determined me to have the accounts 
strictly examined in my office before passing them to the auditor, and 
all payments deemed improper noticed. Our list of the irregular or 
deficient vouchers was sent to the auditor, with the accounts, and a 
duplicate to the paymaster, who makes the proper corrections at next 
payment. As the examination made by the paymaster-general is not 
called for by law, the person improperly paid is not to be governed 
thereby until it is confirmed by the treasury officers ; but a paymaster 
will be justified in withholding ths amount reported as improper, until 
a final settlement by the auditor and comptroller. 

" It is to the prompt examination of the accounts in the paymaster- 
general's office, as before stated, that I ascribe the freedom of the 
department from defalcation. It will be readily perceived, that if the 
accounts of the department during the war with Mexico had romained 
as long before settlement as those of the war of 1812, there would be 
but little hope of giving explanations that would remove the objections 
of accounting officers, or of recovering disallowed payments to volun- 
teers, and to dead and discharged soldiers of the regular armv. 

It appears from the accompanying report, that, in the war of 1812, 
the defalcations amounted to more than double the expenses of the 
department, and, from another report, exceeded 930,000 dollars. My 
answer to the call of the Military Committee of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, shows the expenditures of the department, during the war 
with Mexico, to have been $24,116,138 14 ; all of which was at that 
time accounted for, except $9,838 44, which were secured by bonds 
to the amount of 200,000 dollars. The auditor states, that of this sum 
$1,210 40 have since been paid, and that suits have been brouoht 
against the principal and sureties for the remainder, which they think 
they do not owe. 

" The exemption of the department from loss pending the Mexican 
war, and the subsequent discharge of the troops, particularly volun- 
teers and irregulars, whose papers are almost always informal and 
imperfect, far exceeded my most sanguine expectations ; it probably 
never occurred before with any disbursing department, certainly never 
under similar circumstances. 

" It would be impossible for the officers of the Treasury Department 
to keep disbursing accounts fully settled up in time of war, even with 
the most liberal allowance of clerks, if the evidence required by law, 
and the formalities made necessary by usage, are observed ; and, as it 



420 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

would be wrong in principle for disbursing departments, finally, to 
settle the accounts of their officers, perhaps the plan of a rigid exami- 
nation of them in such offices, before turning them over to the treasury, 
is the best that could be adopted. I am convinced that to it, more 
than to any one thing, is it owing that the department has escaped 
loss, and the ruin of some of its most valuable officers. 

" If you deem it proper, I will thank you to submit this communica- 
tion to the Military Committee. 

" Very respectfully, 

" Your obedient servant, 

" N. TowsoN, 

" Paymaster- General. 
" Hon. Alexander Evans, 

" House of Representatives ." 

Besides the services rendered by General Towson, in the direct 
duties of his office, he was often counselled, as the senior officer o' 
that branch of the staff, in regard to important measures affecting the 
management of public affairs, especially in the army ; and it will now 
be fully known, how much the country owes to his sound judgment, 
his practical views, and the results of his long and varied experience. 
As an illustration of this remark, we may mention the following : In 
183G, the Hon. B. F. Butler, then acting as Secretary of War, ex- 
pressed to General Towson a wish, that he would submit, in writing, 
his opinions in regard to the delays and failures in conducting the In- 
dian wars iu Florida. This the General did, in a verj' able paper, 
which is on file in the War Department ; and in which he points out, 
in a masterly manner, the errors that had defeated and protracted our 
military operations in Florida ; and the way in which these errors might 
be avoided. The document is too lengthy to be here inserted ; but it 
might furnish a very profitable military study for the young soldier, who 
wishes to avail himself of the sagacity and experience of one of our 
ablest commanders. The following letter will show the estimation in 
which this document was held by the department, and the benefit 
which resulted from it. 

" W^AR Department, 

" March 13, 1837. 

« Sir, — Before quitting the department , I desire to present to you my 
best thanks, for the valuable paper communicated to me by you, on the 
17th of November last, on the subject of military operations m Flo- 
rida. It was of essential service to me, in the preparation of the an- 
nual report ; and it gave me so lucid and comprehensive a view of 
the proper mode of conducting the operations referred to, as to qualify 
me, in some respects, for the general supervision of that important 
matter. I have heretofore personally expressed to you these acknow- 
edgments ; but as I shall leave your communication on the files of the 



NATHAN TOWSON, OF MARYLAND. 421 

department, I am anxious that its records should contain this evidence 
of the light in which I regarded it. 

" Very respectfully, 

" Your most obedient servant, 

"B. F. Butler, 

"Secretary of War, ad interim. 
" General N. Towson, 

" Paymaster-General, 

" United States Army.^'' 

Nor was the foregoing the only instance in which the military 
genius and experience of Towson was called into requisition, when he 
himself appeared not on the field. If the secret history of more recent 
and more magnificent military operations shall be published, the ex- 
tent to which his counsels were sought and followed will be better 
known, and the value of his services will be more adequately appre- 
ciated. 

The great southern statesman, than whom there were few better 
judges of character and public merit, held the subject of this memoir in 
high esteem, as will appear from a letter addressed to President Tay- 
lor, at the time of General Scott's accession to the office of com- 
mander-in-chief ; and as the letter forms an appropriate close for this 
sketch of our hero's military character, we insert it. 

" Senate Chamber, 29i/i June, 1841. 

" Dear Sir, — Should the nomination of Scott be confirmed, of 
which I suppose there is no doubt, I would bring the name of General 
Towson to your notice, as a proper selection to fill his place. I know 
him well. He has few equals and no superior in the army, as a man 
or an officer. Of his public service in the late war, I need say no- 
thing : it is known to you and to the whole country to have been hril- 
liant, when compared with the bravest and most skilful. In relation 
to his rank, I enclose a paper, prepared for me, at my request, the ac- 
curacy of which may be relied on. I enclose it, not that I suppose 
you will be governed by rank ; as I hold you have the right of selec- 
tion ; but it may have some weight. This is sufficiently high to sus- 
tain his nomination, without giving, on that score, the least shock to 
the feelings of the army ; while his unquestionable merit, as a man 
and officer, could not fail to cause his nomination to be heartily re- 
ceived by both the army and country. I have written what I have, 
solely to do justice to the merits of General Towson, and from a re 
gard for the good of the service. 

" With great respect, 

" Yours, truly, 

' J. C. Calhoun. 
" The President." 

The subject of this memoir has been more than forty-one y",ajs m 
the service without arrest or censure. He has received five brevets, 



422 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

three for gallant conduct in the face of the enemy, and two for meri- 
torious conduct. By the recommendation of the President, and con- 
currence of the Senate, in 1834, an additional brevet was conferred on 
such officers as had distinguished themselves in the war of 1812, the 
brevet to date ten years after the war brevet. By this General Tow- 
son was entitled to rank as brevet brigadier-general, from August 15, 
1824, ten years after " the defence of Fort Erie." 

General Towson was engaged, during the period of his military life, 
as friend of one or other of the parties, in more than twenty " affairs 
of honor" between his brother officers and others ; but in every instance, 
by his prudence and influence, succeeded in bringing them to an 
amicable termination without bloodshed. His position, and the confi- 
dence reposed in him, rendered him peculiarly liable to be called upon 
in matters of this kind. No man more decidedly reprobates this mode 
of settling personal difficulties, nor deplores the necessity which, by 
the customs of the age, has sometimes forced men of honorable senti- 
ments to resort to it. 

General Towson has received from his countrymen, at difl^erent 
times, several marks of respect, amongst which may be mentioned the 
following : At the close of the Avar, the citizens of Buffalo presented 
him with an elegant sword, with inscriptions expressive of their admi- 
ration and gratitude for his services in defence of their frontier. This 
compliment was all the more distinguished, as he was the only officer 
who received such a token of approbation, and as those who presented 
it were eye-witnesses of the operations of the army, and of the conduct 
of its officers. His native state also presented him with a sword, 
inscribed with the names of the principal battles in which he had dis- 
tinguished himself. 

The Society of the Cincinnati of Maryland elected him an honorary 
member ; and the honorary degree of Master of Arts was conferred 
upon him by Brov^n University, Rhode Island. 

General Towson is a decided friend and supporter of the Christian 
religion, considers its principles the great safeguards of social order 
and national prosperity, and hesitates not to avow his confidence in 
its provisions as the basis of his personal hopes. His example in pri- 
vate life is such as can be warmly commended to the imitation of his 
young countrymen. He is eminently a pure man, both in his private 
and public character ; and his whole history, and the position which 
he now occupies in public esteem, as his life verges to threescore 
years and ten, forcibly illustrates the trite but truthful maxim, that 
" honesty is the best policy." 

May his evening be as peaceful as his day has been honorable and 
useful ; and when he shall receive, from the Great Captain, his final 
discharge from the service of God and his country, in this world of 
toil and battle, may he share a triumph more magnificent than any 
that he won on earth, and may others arise to emulate his virtues and 
his valor. 




'- -^y J CButire frc>^ ' 




GEORGE PEABODY, 

THE EMINENT AMERICAN BANKER. 

George Peabodv. now a resident of London, was born in the South 
parish of . Danvers, February 18, 1795. At the early age of ek^ven 
years, he was placed in the grocery store of Captain Sylvester Proctor, 
where he remained about iour years, receiving from Mr. Proctor and 
his excellent lady (a sister of the Rev. Daniel Poor, the devoted mis- 
sionary to Ceylon) parental kindness, together with such instructions 
and precepts as, " by endeavoring to practice the same in after life," 
he remarks, " I owe much of my success." An anecdote is told of 
George Peabody, relating to this period of his life, which however 
trivial in itself, is strongly tinctured with the same determined energy 
and assiduous application for which his subsequent career has been 
so eminently distinguished, and to which, with the blessing of Provi- 
dence, he owes so much of his prosperity. 

It appears that among other duties devolving upon the assistant of 
Mr. Proctor was that of the manufacture of whips ; and Mr. Proctor 
had often extolled the dexterity of one Life Smith, a man previously 
in his employ, who in one day had made six dozen of these same 
whips, which was deemed a brilliant specimen of despatch. This 
was enough to stimulate George to action, who, though but a boy of 
eleven years, had enough emulation to compete with his predecessor, 
who was a man. He accordingly one day, during the absence of Mr. 
Proctor, set to work heart and hands, and reared a glorious pile of 
eight dozen whips, which were proudly displayed to the astonished 
gaze of good Mr. Proctor on his return home in the evening. Nor 
was this the first time George had surprised his friends by a display 
of energetic application rarely met with in one so young, and when met 
with, always indicative of rare achievements in after life. During the 
year 1805, he passed some time with his grandparents, who resided 
at Thetford, Vermont. While here, his grandfather wished to have a 
hill-side cleared, which was overgrown with sumac trees. This hill- 
side included many acres, and the trees numbered some hundreds. 
George undertook to cut them down, and his grandfather gave him a 
week for the task. At early morning, forth sallied George, axe in 
hand, and by the evening of the same day the task was accomplished. 
The sun went down, and left not a sumac standing to exult over its 
fallen companions. This feat called into requisition his physical 
strength, as well as his strength of purpose, and both, doubtless, were 
invigorated by the performance. At any rate, the accomplishment of 
exploits such as these must have given him a degree of confidence in 
his own capabilities which would prove a valuable auxiliary in the 
planning and execution of graver and more important projects. Hap- 
pily the energy so conspicuous in these little incidents was blended 
with a most unyielding perseverance, as the following circumstance 
will show. It happened that a man named Johnson, notorious for the 
non-payment of his debts, owed two dollars to George's grandfather, 



424 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS 



the payment of which seemed altogether a hopeless matter. This 
was told to George, with the promise that a quarter of a dollar should 
reward his success if he could get in the debt. " I will go twice to- 
morrow," he exclaimed, jumping from his seat with impetuosity ; and 
accordingly on the morrow George paid his first visit to Johnson, who 
lif-ed about a mile from the abode of his grandfather. From this 
time the unfortunate debtor found himself assailed with a determined 
perseverance which might have rivalled that of the importunate widow 
herself. For two whole months George kept up a series of applica- 
tions with unabating zeal, when at length the man's tenacity yielded 
to a determination which he clearly foresaw would relax only with the 
attainment of its object. That object was attained by dint of unwea- 
ried application. The two dollars were handed over to George, who 
was rewarded, according to promise, with one eighth of the amount ; 
and a munificent reward it doubtless was in Georoe's estimation — 
quite an important capital. It was soon after augmented, and the 
additional sum, like the quarter of a dollar, was ivon. The day fol- 
lowing, that of the Thanksgiving, (1805,) was a high day for rural 
sports and holiday fun of all kinds. At Danvers it was duly observed ; 
and a Mr. Wheeler, landlord of an inn near the South Meeting-house, 
to promote the merriment of the day, and his own interests withal, put 
up a sheep to be shot at, which was to be the prize of the successful 
marksman. George was there, and looked on at many a luckless aim, 
for balls had glanced wide of the mark from more than a hundred prac- 
tised hands. He thought he could hit the mark, and felt a strong 
desire to shoot ; but he had no gun, no ammunition, and could not 
spare the price of an aim, which was 12}4 cents. He was not, how- 
ever, one to halt at obstacles, while there was the slightest possible 
chance of surmounting them. He had found a spent ball, which was 
something towards it. With this he applied to the landlord, who, by 
way of encouragement, and little dreaming his sheep would be in peril 
by the act, lent him a musket, (a most ungainly one for the hands of a 
boy of that kind, called the King's Arms, the rifle or light sporting gun 
being at that time rarely used) ; besides this, he supplied him with 
powder, and allowed him to shoot at "' half-price." Having charged 
his heavy piece, and placed himself at the prescribed point, which was 
several hundred yards from the prize, with steady eye and hand George 
took his aim, and the next instant down fell the hapless sheep, shot 

Shouts of enthusiastic cheering burst from the 
were between two and three hundred. 
Amidst it all, George triumphantly bore off his prize, which he after- 
wards sold for two dollars. 

In 1810, in the hope of a better situation, he left Captain Proctor ; 
but the embargo and expected war with England rendered the time 
most unpropitious for obtaining employment in any mercantile pursuit. 
'J^hat year, therefore, was principally spent in Thctford with his ma- 
ternal grandparents. This was his only time of comparative leisure 
since his eleventh year. In April, 1811, he was received as a clerk 
in the dry goods store of his eldest brother, David Peabody, of New- 
buryport, who had himself just attained his majority, and was yet 
hardly established in business. A few weeks subsequently his father 



through the heart, 
spectators, of whom there 



GEORGE-'TEABODV, of LONDON. 425 

was very suddenly removed by death ; and soon after, the great fire at 
Newburyport took place, by which his brother was a sutTerer, and 
failed in business, thus throwing the younger brother again out of 
employment. He now found himself, at the age of sixteen, suddenly 
and unexpectedly an orphan, without funds, without a situation, without 
nifluential friends, and the prospect of the times as gloomy as can well 
be imagined. On the 4th of May, 1812, not finding employment, he 
left New-England with his uncle. General John Peabody, who had 
been unfortunate in business, and was at this time in the most dis- 
couraging circumstances. They sailed from Newburyport in the brig 
" Fame," Captain Davis, for Georgetown, (D. C.) John Peabody 
established himself in Georgetown, but owing to his pecuniary posi- 
tion, the business was conducted in the name of his nephew, and the 
management of it devolved chiefly upon him. 

On the 18th of June following, about a month after his arrival at 
Georgetown, war was declared with England, and volunteer compa- 
nies were formed and enrolled for the defence of the country. Al- 
though not yet arrived at the age when he would be required to do 
military service, young Peabody was a staunch patriot, and loved his 
country too well to lose an opportunity of serving her. He, accord- 
ingly, was one of the first volunteers in an artillery company, formed 
at Georgetown, under the command of Colonel George Peter, (whose 
lady was a niece of Washington's.) In the following July he was on 
active duty at Fort Warburton, messing with Francis S. Key, (the 
writer of the " Star-spangled Banner,") who was a private in the same 
company. The fort occupied a position of the first importance, guard- 
ing the river pass to Alexandria and Washington, and the English 
were at this time menacing it with a large fleet they had brought into 
the Potomac. Here it was that George Peabody was stationed; and, 
though not present at any engagement, he distinguished himself by the 
prompt readiness and rapidity with which he performed the various 
evolutions and duties connected with the artillery service. He con- 
tinued to do duty in this company till the autumn of 1813. 

With his uncle he remained about two years, faithfully and indus- 
triously performing those duties and services for which he could have 
the prospect of little if any remuneration. About this time, it having 
occurred to him that his name being used in the transactions of 
the business, he might be responsible for its liabilities when he 
should become of age, he freed himself from his engagements to his 
uncle, to whom his services were so necessary, but with many painful 
feelings that his duty to himself compelled him to this course. Soon 
after this, and before he was nineteen years old, a wealthy merchant 
(Mr. Elisha Riggs, now of New-York) proposed receiving him as a 
partner in the dry-goods trade, Mr. Riggs finding the capital, and Mr. 
Peabody taking the management of the business. He was at this 
time, as will be remembered by those of us who saw him on his brief 
visits to his native town, quite six feet in height, of manly form and 
proportions, while premature care and anxiety had given to his coun- 
tenance the expression of niaturer years. His partner, therefore, after 
the writings of copartnership were drawn, was surprised to find that 
his contract had been made with a hoy. He was, however, kind 



426 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

enough to forgive the fault which had been so honestly confessed, and 
which time would so quickly amend, and the connection proved a 
most fortunate one for both parties. The house of Riggs & Peabody 
was removed to Baltimore in 1815, and other houses were established 
in Philadelphia and New-York in 1822 — the partnership continuing, 
in terms of five years each, for fifteen years, several other individuals 
occupying successively, subordinate situations in the house. In 1829, 
Mr. Elisha Riggs retired from the firm ; but his nephew, Mr. Samuel 
Riggs, who had been admitted five years before, remained ; and Mr. 
Peabody became senior partner, under the firm of Peabody, Riggs & 
Co. During the preceding fifteen years, Mr. Peabodv's labors were 
excessive. His frequent collecting excursions, occupying usually six 
or seven weeks, were performed on horseback, through the wildest 
regions of Maryland and Virginia, and in the most inclement seasons 
of the year. 

The burden of the extensive operations of the house rested principally 
upon him ; and from his earliest youth the cares and perplexities, the 
struggles and disappointment which usually advance but with mature 
manhood, had been drawing forth and perfecting those peculiar traits of 
character of which his childhood gave promise, and for which, as a man, 
he has been so highly distinguished. And here, might we invade the 
sanctity of his early home and the circle of his immediate connections, 
we could light around the youthful possessor of a few hundreds of dollars 
— the avails of the most severe and untiring efibrts — a brighter halo 
than his elegant hospitalities, his munificent donations, or his liberal 
public charities, now shed over the rich London banker. We will 
venture to state in general terms, that before he was twenty years old, 
he had shared his limited means with his widowed mother and orphan 
brothers and sisters ; and at the age of twenty-four, he voluntarily 
charged himself with their entire support, educating the latter, and 
fulfilling to them the part of the most indulgent parent. For their 
sakes he was willing to forego the attractive but expensive pleasures 
which a city residence continually presented him, and cheeri'uUy 
practised every self-denial, that he might bring them forward to re- 
spectability and happiness. His first voyage to Europe was made in 
1827, for the purchase of goods, the firm having for some time pre- 
vious imported their own supplies. During 'the next ten years he 
crossed the Atlantic several times, and was entrusted with important 
financial negotiations • for the government of his adopted State. 
(Maryland.) 

He embarked again for England, February 1, 1837, and has not 
since been in his native country. In July, 1843, he retired from the 
firm of " Peabody, Riggs & Co., New- York and Baltimore," and estab- 
lished himself in London, where he has since continued in a very 
extensive commercial and banking business. It has been asked, 
" what is the secret of his success ?" We answer, in the language of 
one most conversant with his business life, " he has entered into no 
giant speculations, nor in general has his gain been disproportionate ; 
but he has realized large profits from his legitimate and extensive 
commercial pursuits, and from investments in various stocks in the 
United States, when generally discredited by the public ; his entire 



GEORGE PEABODY, OF LONDON. iiil 

confidence in the integrity of the defauUing States, and in the ultimate 
payment of" their debts, never deserted him in the gloomiest period ol" 
their history." Having decided on a certain course, he has always 
been remarkable for the power, bending all his energies of mind and 
of body to the one object of pursuit. It was thus when, at the age of 
sixteen, he entered on his chosen profession. He then laid down for 
himself certain rules, involving the principles of justice, integrity, 
good faith, and punctuality, which he considered not only as morally 
binding on himself, but as due to his fellow-men, and indispensable to 
his reputation as an honorable merchant. A strict and unwavering 
adherence to these principles in every extremity, and the blessing ol' 
Providence on a course of patient, severe, unremitting and persevering- 
industry, with habits of economy as regards himself, and a judicious 
liberality towards those who have needed his assistance, constitute, 
we believe, the great secret by which he has attained to the pecuniary 
and social position which he now occupies. His habits of punctuality 
have been proverbial. He recently stated, to an intimate friend, that 
in all his business life he never failed to meet a pecuniary engage- 
ment. Far seeing into matters relating to his peculiar calling, of long 
exp'jrience, and acute observation, he has been able to judge correctly 
of causes and results, and generally to foresee alarming crises in season 
to prepare for them. In August, 1836, in conversation with the friend 
above alluded to, he remarked, " I am confident that the rage for spe- 
culation which has characterized the last two or three years, must 
produce disastrous results. Accordingly, I have written to my partners 
to keep every thing snug, and without reference to new sales or ne\f 
profits, to get in outstanding debts and be prepared for the emergency." 
How far his predictions were well founded the dreadful panic of 1837 
soon proved. The consequence of this caution was, that he passed 
through that fiery ordeal unscathed, and had the satisfaction to aid 
many others to do the same. His exertions, however, have not always 
been crowned with equal success. In common with other commercial 
houses, he has sustained severe losses, some of them doubly aggravating, 
being the result of treachery or ingratitude in those in whom he had con- 
fided, all whom he had particularly obliged. " From these losses." says 
one, " although greatly sensitive to the first shock, he has arisen with an 
unprecedented elasticity of resolution, and has redoubled his efforts until 
every deficiency has been made up. In the failure of American credit, 
he was deeply interested personally, and with other Americans abroad 
shared the mortification which was felt on account of that disastrous 
event. His position as an American and a merchant in the metropolis 
of Great Britain, was, at this period, a mo.st trying one ; but in the dark- 
est hour of his country's adversity, he stood up manfully for her defence. 
His letters on " Repudiation," and his efforts to sustain or to restore 
American credit abroad, constitute the brightest page in his history. 
For these eftbrts he is justly entitled to the deepest gratitude of his 
countrymen, especially those of his adopted State. Maryland has 
acknowledged her obligations to him in a public and graceful manner, 
as honorable to herself as it must be grateful to the feelings of him 
who felt so keenly for her pecuniary credit, and did so much to pro- 
tect it. 



428 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

The acknowledgments of Maryland above alluded to, are contained 
in the two following letters and resolutions of her Senate and House 
of Delegates. They were published in the daily papers of Baltimore. 

Resolutions of the Legislature of Maryland. By the House of De- 
legates, March 7th, 1848. 

Whereas, Mr. George Peabody, a citizen of Maryland, now resident 
of London, was appointed one of three commissioners, under the act 
of Assembly of eighteen hundred and thirty five, to negotiate a loan 
for this State, and after performing the duties assigned to him, refused 
to apply for the compensation allowed by the provisions of that act, be- 
cause he was unwilling to add to the burthens of the State, at a time 
when she was overwhelmed with the weight of her obligations ; and 
whereas, since the credit of the State has been restored, he has volun- 
tarily relinquished all claim for the compensation due to him for his 
services, expressing himself fully paid by the gratification of seeing 
the State free from reproach in the eyes of the world : 

Be it unanimously resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, 
that the record of such disinterested zeal is higher praise than any 
that eloquence could bestow, and that this legislature is therefore con- 
tent with tendering the thanks of this State to Mr. Peabody, for his 
generous devotion to the interests and honor of Maryland. 

And further resolved, that the Governor of this State be requested 
to transmit these resolutions to Mr. Peabody, in such a manner as he 
may deem most appropriate. 

By order, 

George G. Brewer, Clerk. 

By the Senate, 

March 8th, 1848. 

Read and assented to, 
By order, 

Joseph H. Nicholson, Clerk. 

True Copy — Test, 

Richard W. Gill, Clerk Court of Appeals. 

letter from governor thomas to mr. peabody. 

State Department, Annapolis, Md. 
October 20, 1848. 
Sir, — I have the honor herewith to transmit the enclosed preamble 
and resolutions, passed unanimously by the General Assembly at its 
last session, tendering the thanks of the State for the generous and 
patriotic interest manifested by you in the restoration of the public 
credit, at a time w'hen Maryland, in common with many of the other 
States of the Union, yielding to the weight of her financial embarrass- 
ments, was compelled temporarily to suspend payment on both her 
foreign and domestic debt; and more especially, for your disinterest- 
edness in relinquishing all claims to compensation for services render- 
ed, and to which, upon every principle of law and justice, you were 



GEORGE PEABODY, OF LONDON. 429 

fairly entitled. Instances of such devotion on the part of a citizen to 
the public welfare, are of rare occurrence, and merit the highest dis- 
tinctions which a commonwealth can bestow. To one whose actions 
are the result of impulses so noble and self-sacrificing, next to the ap- 
proval of his own conscience, no homage can be more acceptable than 
the meed of a people's gratitude, no recompense so grateful as the as- 
surance of a complete realization of those objects and ends, whose 
attainment has been regarded of higher value than were personal con- 
venience or pecuniary consideration. 

" The legislature, in the passage of these resolutions, has not miscon- 
ceived the sentiments of its constituents. The people of Maryland 
are proverbially magnanimous and patriotic, and sensitively alive to 
whatever concerns their puljlic or private honor, and profoundly grate- 
ful to all by whom one or the other has been vindicated or sustained. 
Exempt as they had always been, except for a single year and for a 
limited amount, from direct contributions to the treasury, and unex- 
pectedly overwhelmed with an enormous debt, it is not wonderful that 
delays and difficulties should have been encountered, both in maturing 
and enforcing the necessarily complex details of any system of taxa- 
tion at all adequate to meet the annually accruing interest, and ulti- 
mately to extinguish the principal of her public obligations. The 
work of restoring the credit of Maryland, beset as it was with em- 
barrassments, and unaided by the light of experience, was nevertheless 
undertaken with a zeal commensurate with the importance of main- 
taining unsullied the plighted faith of the State, and with a decision 
and energy calculated to insure success. By the act of December 
session, 1846, chap. 238, the treasurer was directed to resume pay- 
ment of the current interest on the public debt, on the lirst day of 
January, eighteen hundred and forty-eight. By the same law the 
commissioner of loans was authorised, at any time after the first day of 
October, 1847, upon the delivery to him of the coupons and certificates 
of interest due and unpaid upon the public debt, to issue to the holder 
or holders thereof the bond or bonds of the State, for the amount of 
such coupons or certificates, redeemable at the pleasure of the State, 
bearing an interest at the rate of six per cent, per annum, from the 
first day of October, eighteen hundred and forty-seven, and payable 
annually at the loan-oflice in Maryland. The effect of this latter pro- 
vision of law was, to convert into principal the entire amount of the 
interest on the main debt of the State which remained unpaid, and 
thereby add to the burdens of the people an additional annual charge 
for interest, at the rate of six per centum per annum, upon a sum not 
far short of a million of dollars. The first day of the present month 
was the period at which, under the operation of the law, payment of 
the interest upon the new-funded debt was to commence. On the 
same day a quarter's interest on the main debt, payable at the loan- 
office, and also the semi-annual interest, payable in London on the 
first day of January next, were likewise falling due. That day, of 
course, formed a crisis in the financial afiairs of Maryland, and pre- 
sented a fair test of the ability of the treasury to discharge in full all 
the engagements of the State. 

•' I have purposely delayed the communication of the inclosed reso 



430 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICAN*. 

lutions, until the period above referred to had passed by ; believing 
that I could render you no more acceptable service than by accompany- 
ing their transmission witli the intelligence of the entire success with 
which the efforts to restore the credit of the State have been crowned. 
It is my privilege to inform you that the liabilities of the State payable 
on the first of October have been promptly met, without the slightest 
inconvenience to the treasury ; and that, after payment of the quarter's 
interest then due, of the sterling interest due on the first of next Ja- 
nuary, and the interest on the funded arrears, there remained a surplus, 
which is every day increasing, much more than sufficient to cover the 
balance of the January instalment, payable at the loan-office in 
Baltimore. 

" The credit of Maryland is thus fully restored, her public honor re- 
deemed, every suspicion of bad faith removed, and no reasonabli; 
doubt remains as to her ability to maintam the proud and elevated po- 
sition she now occupies. To you, sir. who have had no inconsider- 
able agency in the accomplishment of this gratuitous result, the thanks 
of the State were eminently due. The action of the General Assem- 
bly reflects faithfully the feelings of gratitude which your generous 
devotion to the interests of the vState has awakened in the bosom of 
every good citizen of Maryland ; and while I am happy in having 
been made the organ of comnumicating this well-merited tribute to 
your public and private virtue, I avail myself of the opportunity which 
the occasion aftbrds, to assure you that the sentiments embodied in 
these resolutions have commanded my most hearty and cordial concur- 
rence. 

" I have the honor to be, with great respect, 
" Your obedient servant, 

" Philip F. Thomas. 

" George Peabody, Esq., London." 

LETTER FROM MR. SPEED TO GEORGE PEABODY,. ESQ. 

" Baltimore, November 13, 1848. 
" My Dear Sir, — The Governor of Maryland, referring, I presume, 
to my late correspondence with you on several public topics, has cho- 
sen to make me the instrument of transmitting to you the resolutions 
ot the legislature passed at its late session, tendering you the thanks 
of the government for your effective zeal and prominent agency in 
upholding the honor of th*^ state in its late afflictions, in a foreign land, 
and in presenting its integrity in true lights to foreign minds. When 
you reflect that these resolutions convey the thanks of a sovereign 
State — one of those that laid the foundation of this Republic — for ser- 
vices rendered her reputation abroad, you will not fail to prize the 
distinction, but will, I know, regard it with the emotion it is so well 
calculated to awaken. In social life we are often assured there is no 
higher impulse than that which prompts us to shield from accusation 
the good name of an absent friend ; and the charities of our nature are 
never more beautifully displayed, than when employed in covering the 
blemishes of those with whom we are connected by kindred ties ; but 
the love of country is a nobler passion — the impulses of patriotism are 
nobler emotions ; and what prouder political duty can the citizen dis- 



GEORGE PEABODY, OF LONDON. 431 

charge than that of upholding, in a foreign land, the good name of his 
country, till truth shall come to rescue its impugned re,putation. I must 
confess I should covet it before the lustre of arms, the achievements 
of war, or the triumphs of ambition, or any of the more captivating suc- 
cesses of genius. And it is your felicity, sir, to be in the position i 
thui= contemplate, and your happiness, moreover, to be assured that 
your country fully appreciates your services. In this instance, most 
certainly, the resolutions of the legislature fulfil the theory of repre- 
sentative assemblies — they give true utterance to the popular voice, 
and true expression to the popular sentiments. And I need scarcely 
refer to the perfect unison that eiists between the sentiments of the 
legislature, and those of the Governor, in regard to your services. His 
Excellency's letter to you, with a copy of Avhich he has honored me, 
speaks very fully for itself on this head. Repudiation is stricken down 
in Maryland, and wnll continue motionless'. In other parts of the con- 
tederacy, it is sinking back into those gloomy abodes of bad minds 
and vulgar breasts where it was engendered, and which, as harbors 
and refuges of vice, unhappily for mankind, exist in all countries. 
Their great monitor, after all, is a sound public sense ; and this is 
awakened in Maryland in its most formidable power. I am happy to 
report to you that our revenue laAVs are even more efiective and fruit- 
ful than we had hoped for them. The amount returned into the trea- 
sury, and the steadiness of the collections, have gone beyond the pub- 
lic expectation. This, while it denotes diligence and fidelity in the 
administration of the laws, proves also that which is before all and 
above all, and our chiefest pride — a devoted willingness on the part of 
the tax-payer. It is not the government that is paying this debt, it is 
the noble-hearted people of Maryland. They, themselves, have spon- 
taneously enacted the laws under which these great contributions are 
drawn into the treasury ; and their willingness to respond to the tax- 
gatherer at their doors, carries out in practice the enlightened and just 
spirit of their legislation. Permit me in conclusion, to assure you ol 
the gratification it has afforded me to have been selected as the me- 
dium of a communication so creditable to the legislature and honor- 
able to yourself. The spirit that has prompted these resolutions is 
worthy of the enviable relation m which you stand to us ; and I feel a 
pride in believing that disinterested and generous as have been your 
efforts, they have been most fully met by the sensibility they have ex- 
cited, and the just appreciation in which they are held by every citizen 
of Maryland. 

" I pray you to believe me as always, very faithfully yours, 

'"J. J. Speed 
" George Pe.\body, Esq., London." 

The business relations of Mr. Peabody are, at this time, very ex- 
tensive and complicated. He attends pcrsonaUi/ to all its most import- 
tant transactions, and to niajii/ of its details. We have been informed 
that he devotes on an average, twelve hours out of every twenty-four 
to business. With all these demands upon his time, he is always 
ready with a warm greeting to his friends from this side of the At- 
lantic. While by the public and social assemblies of his countrymen, 



432 SKETCHES 07 EMINENT AMERICANS. 

with invited British residents of distinction, he has done much to pro- 
mote a kindly feeling between the two countries. 

(The following is an extract from the Boston Post, of September 19, 
1851.) 

" It seems that two towns of Massachusetts contend for the honor 
of the nativity of George Peabody, the eminent London merchant." 
(As was before stated, Danvers was the birthplace of Mr. Peabody.) 
*' They may well do it ; Danvers, with its old historic memories — Salem, 
with its long line of distinguished men in the professions and in trade — 
even Essex county itself, full of the kernel of personal merits and re- 
nown in her citizens for two hundred years — have occasion to boast no 
accidental honor that is greater than that of having produced a man 
whose real goodness and greatness of heart are surpassed only by the 
modesty of his manners and the instructive quiet of his private life. 
It is rare in our own country that, without advantages of birth, or inhe- 
ritance, or education, or public place, a simple-minded, unobtrusive, 
straightforward man, becomes, by the few means commercial life gives, 
pre-eminent among his peers ; and it is rarer still, that in another coun- 
try, and that country famous for individual wealth, a man like this, 
among the merchant princes of that country's metrofolis, should rise 
to distinction. When such a case does occur, there is no rea- 
son why it should be concealed. That man's character which is ele- 
vated by means of pure personal merit, becomes, by the strongest title, 
the property of the rising generation of his country for their model and 
example." 

And such a man is Mr. George Peabody. Mr. Peabody has been 
a resident of London for many years. His business Avould be called 
that of banking in the United States ; but in Great Britain, where trade 
divides into more minute ramifications, and every branch of it classi- 
fied, he is called a merchant, as are Baring Brothers & Co., the Roths- 
childs, and other distinguished houses. The diflerence is simply, that 
while these firms loan money, buy stocks, change drafts, hold deposits, 
&c., they do not themselves pay out money like the houses of Coates 
and others, who are strictly bankers. 

You may always find him at his business during the hours devoted 
to it in London. " He knows no such thing as relaxation from it. At 
half-past ten o'clock every morning, you may notice him coming out 
from the Club Chambers, where he keeps bachelor's hall, taking a 
seat in the passing omnibus, and riding some three miles to his office 
in Warnford Court, a dingy alley in Throgmorton-street ; and in that 
office, or near by, day after day, year in and out, you may be sure to 
find him, always cheerful, always busy, following the apostolic direc- 
tion to the very letter, " Study to be quiet and do your own business." 
In personal appearance, Mr. Peabody looks more a professional than 
a business man. He is some six feet tall, erect, with a florid com- 
plexion, and a fine bold forehead. He may be past fifty years of age, 
though his appearance does not indicate it. He is ready, intelligent 
in no ordinary degree, copious in the power of expressing his views, 
and truly sincere in every thing which he does and says. In com- 
mercial phrase, he is pre-eminently a reliable man, showing neither to 
friends nor enemies, under any circumstances, any phase of character, 



GEORGE PEABODY, OF LONDON. 433 

which will not be found stable in every event. To his country, to her 
interests, her reputation, her honor and credit, it has been his pride 
ever to be true. A more thorough American in heart, and soul, and 
sympathy, does not exist. If he is known by any one characteristic 
above all others, it is this. While others, flattered into lukewarni- 
ness towards our free institutions, by the attention of the aristocracy 
of the mother country, or in the desire to gain the applause of the 
great, has acquiesced in those disparaging opinions, which are com- 
mon towards the United States among the advocates of monarchy, 
Mr. Peabody has always stood firm. In the peril of credit to State 
bonds, his opmion frankly expressed upon change, and as freely acted 
upon in his counting-room, was better than bullion in the treasury. 
In negotiation of State loans, when American securities were blown 
upon in the market, his aid became an endorsement, indubitable in its 
security, to the buyer. In the advancement of American interest, his 
energy never flags. When the products of American industry, unpro- 
vided for by any Congressional appropriation, were jeopardized for lack 
of funds to carry out the purposes of the contributors, he was the one 
to step forward and advance the necessary loan. Perhaps in no former 
instance has Mr. Peabody's love of country been exhibited in stronger 
relief. Every other nation had made provision for the expenses of its 
contributors. While the first opinion of the English public placed the 
productions of the United States beneath all others, he had the foresight 
to perceive that time only was needed to do us justice. He furnished 
the money, counselled courage, urged energy, conciliated difficulties, 
and gave his whole influence towards what he assured his countrymen 
would be the result. The event has proved that he was not mistaken ; 
and to him, more than to any other man out of the Crystal Palace, is 
it due that the honor of receiving the great medal of the Exhibition, 
not for mere handicraft, but for the only introduction of a new principle 
into the useful arts, has fallen upon the United States. Few men in 
London, whose attention has been devoted exclusively to commercial 
pursuits, have ever enjoyed a higher reputation than Mr Peabody. No 
other man could have asseinl)led on the Fourth of July the aristocracy 
of Great Britain to commemorate with Americans the birthday of 
republican institutions. Honor to him who loves to honor his country ! 
It is his intention, ere long, to return to the United States, and spend 
the rest of his life. When he does so, while he will leave behind 
him an unsullied reputation better than gold, he will find in his own 
country a welcome which no common desert would gain." 

The following extracts, from an account published in London, of the 
proceedings of the parting dinners given by Mr. Peabody, will be found 
interesting to his townsmen. 

" On the 29th of October, 1851, Mr. George Peabody, of London, 
gave a parting dinner at the London Coffee House, to the American 
gentlemen connected Avith the exhibition. The guests consisted of the 
Americans known to be in London, and also of many English gentle- 
men. The Hall was appropriately and beautifully decorated under 
the direction of Mr. Stevens and Mr. Somerby. Behind the chair was 
placed Huyter's full length portrait of her Majesty, on one side of 

28 



434 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

which was Stuart's Washington, and on the other Patten's portrait of 
his Royal Highness Prince Albert, each the size of life. The na- 
tional ensigns of Great Britain and the United States, appropriately- 
united by a wreath of laurel, were draped about these paintings, and 
pennants were kindly furnished by the admiralty for the occasion, 
completed the effect. The chair was taken by Mr. Peabody, at sev mi 
o'clock. Mr. Davis officiated as first vice-chairman, and the side 
tables were presided over by Mr. Stephens and Colonel Lawrence, re- 
spectively, as second and third vice-chairmen. The elegant and 
sumptuous dinner fully sustained the credit of Mr. Lovegrove's house. 
After the cloth was removed, and grace said, Mr. Harker, the toast- 
master, announced the Loving Cup in the following words : " The 
Right Hon. Earl of Granville, his Excellency the American Minister, 
His Excellency Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, the Hon. Robert Walker, 
the Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Joseph Paxton, Sir Charles 
Fox, and gentlemen all, Mr. Peabody drinks to you in a loving cup, 
and bids you all a hearty welcome.* The loving cup was then passed 
round in the usual manner, and due honor done to this ancient custom. 

" The dessert having been served, Mr. Peabody rose and announced, 
successively, the three following toasts, each being prefaced by a neat 
and appropriate speech : — 

" The Queen — God bless her. 

" The President of the United States — God bless him. 

" The health of his Royal Highness Prince Albert,Albert Prince of 
Wales, and the rest of the Royal Family. 

" These toasts were received with the greatest enthusiasm, and with 
the accompanying honors, the band playing " God Save the Queen," 
and " Hail Columbia." Appropriate and excellent speeches were 
made, by Mr. Corbin, of Virginia, Mr. Abbott Lawrence, Earl Granville, 
Mr. Robert J. Walker, Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, Mr. Davis, Mr. 
Riddle, and Mr. Stansbury. 

" Mr. Bates, of the house of Baring & Brothers, then toasted, — 

" Mr. Thomas Hankey, jun., the Governor of the Bank of England. 

" The Governor, on rising to reply, was loudly cheered. He con- 
cluded his speech as follows : — ' Allusion has been made to rival 
feelings, and may I not give a strong proof that none such exist in 
this city, excepting in that generous rivalry which is the truest stimulus 
to exertion, when I remind you that the gentleman who has done me the 
honor to propose my health, and who I am sure will allow me to call him 
my friend, is an American, though standing at the head of one of the 
largest and most widely-known English firms. The house of Barings 
is known not only in Europe and America, but in every part of the 
globe ; and Mr. Bates, the present acting head of that well-known and 
respected house, is, as I have before observed, an American. He al- 
luded to my connection with America, a connection which I ever re- 

* The loving cup which went round the tables, was one which Mr. Peabody had 
just received from a friend in America. It is made of oak, from the homestead of 
Mr. Pcabody's ancestors, at Danvers, near Salem, Massachusetts. It is richly in- 
laid with silver, and bears the family arras and following inscription. " Franci" 
Peabody, of Salem, to George Peabody, of London." 



GEORGE PEABODY, OF LONDON. 435 

gard with feelings of the greatest satisfaction, for I have been thereby 
frequently thrown into communication with Americans, and I have 
never received from them anything but friendship and kindness. I have 
twice visited and travelled in the United States. On the last occasion, 
in 1834, I met a gentleman on board the sailing-packet, with whom I 
made acquaintance, and whose acquaintance I have kept to this day. 
That gentleman was Mr. Peabody, who has been kind enough to invite 
me to witness his reception of his countrymen in this truly hospitable 
manner. I am proud to consider him as a colleague and brother 
merchant of London ; and I am not the less proud of it when I hear, 
from the lips of so many of his own countrymen as I have done on 
this day, that they consider his high and unimpeachable character, his 
abilities, his integrity, and his industry, as great an ornament to their 
country as we are glad to consider him to ours. Long may he enjoy 
the fruits of his well-earned independence ; and long may he continue 
equally respected on both sides of the Atlantic' 
" The Governor sat down amid prolonged cheering. 
" Lord Granville then rose again, and stated, that he had obtained 
permission to say a few words more, and that he should make the 
opportunity available for proposing a toast, the propriety of which all 
would recognise, and which he was sure Avould be welcomed with 
unequalled enthusiasm. His lordship concluded a very truthful and 
graceful tribute to Mr. Peabody, by alluding to the prominent and dis- 
tinguished part which that gentleman had taken in advancing the 
interests of the Exhibition, and at the still more prominent position 
which he had achieved for himself by his unwearied eiforts to promote 
the happiness of Americans in this country, and to foster a kind and 
brotherlyfeeling between Englishmen and Americans. His lordship also 
alluded particularly to the regret which he had experienced at having 
been unable to attend the superb fete given by Mr. Peabody on the 
last anniversary of American Independence ; and characterised that 
fete as marking an auspicious epoch in the history of international 
feeling as between England and America. In conclusion, he proposed 
— the health of Mr. Peabody." 

After the prolonged and reiterated cheering with which this senti- 
ment was received had subsided, Mr. Peabody rose and said : 

" My Lords and Gentlemen — I may most sincerely assure you, that 
any feeling at the present moment is one of profound humility. Gra- 
tifying as is this spontaneous expression of your approbation and re- 
gard, and grateful as I am to the noble lord and to you all for your 
undeserved kindness, I feel sensible of my entire inability to convey 
to you in suitable language, the acknowledgments which I would wish 
to make ; and I feel this humility and my inability the more strongly, 
after listening to the eloquent speeches which have been made this 
evening. Gentlemen, I have lived a great many years in this country 
without weakening my attachment to my own land, but at the same 
time too long not to honor the institutions and people of Great Britain. 
It has therefore been my constant desire, while showing such atten- 
tions as were in my power to my own countrymen, to promote to the 
very utmost kind and brotherly feelings between Englishmen and 



436 -SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Americans (cheers). The origin of this meeting was, my desire to 
pay respect to those of my countrymen who had been connected with 
the Great Exhibition of 1851, and to pay a parting tribute to their 
skill, ingenuity and originality, before their departure to the United 
States. And I cannot but feel that I hav^e been extremely fortunate 
in bringing together so large a number of our countrymen on the occa- 
sion. You will understand also, that I feel extreme gratification at 
the presence of our kind-hearted minister, and of those English gen- 
tlemen whose social and official rank, no less than their connection 
either with our country, or with the Exhibition, renders them fitting 
representatives of national feeling, and entitle them to our respect, 
and to my most grateful acknowledgments (hear). The importance 
of maintaining kindly feelings between the people of our respective 
countries, has been the principal theme of the eloquent speeches 
which we have heard this evening, and particularly that of Sir Henry 
Lytton Bulwer ; but although in some measure a repetition of what has 
been so much better said by him, I cannot forbear making a few re- 
marks on the same subject. There has recently been much excite- 
ment in America in reference to the maintenance of the union of the 
States, an excitement that has placed the imion on a firmer basis than 
ever. I have felt that, important to us as is that bond of union, there 
is another which is no less important to the whole civilized world ; I 
refer to the moral and friendly union between Great Britain and the 
United States (loud cheers). May both these unions still contiime and 
gather strength with their gathering years. Gentlemen, many of 
you whom I see here to-night will soon be on the ocean, homeward 
bound, and there are many whom I may not have the pleasure of meet- 
ing before their departure ; but if I do not meet you all again on this 
side of the Atlantic, I trust that I will at some future day on the other 
side. After such gratifying proofs of your friendly feelings towards 
me, I am persuaded that your kindness will induce you to give me, 
in your native land, a warmer but not more sincere welcome than it 
has been in my power to give you here. I conclude by again ofTering 
you my warmest thanks." 

This speech was received with inexpressible cordiality, and at 
its close the company rose and greeted Mr. Peabody with " three 
times three" cheers, and " one more," with a heartiness not to be sur- 
passed. 

The superb fete referred to in the speech of Lord Granville is in 
the London Illustrated News, which has a fine engraving of the hall 
at Almack's, where the entertainment took place, with the decora- 
tions, &c. 

" GRAND ENTERTAINMENT TO THE AMERICAN MINISTER. 

" A superb entertainment was given by Mr. George Peabody, the emi- 
nent American merchant, to many hundreds of his countrymen, and 
our own, at Willis's Rooms, to meet the American Minister and Mrs. 
Lawrence, on Friday, July 4th, 1851, the anniversary of American 
Independence. Mr. Peabody selected this anniversary for this im- 
mense gathering of Englishmen and Americans, for the avowed pur- 



GEORGE PEABODY, OF LONDON. 'iZ' 

pose of showing that all hostile feeling, in regard to the occurrences 
which it calls to mind, has ceased to have place in the breasts of tho 
citizens of either of the two great Anglo-Saxon nations, and that there 
is no longer anything to prevent them meeting together on that day, 
or on any other occasion, in perfect harmony and brotherhood. The 
superb suite of Almack's Rooms gave ample space for the guests. 
The walls were richly festooned with white drapery, entwined by 
Wreaths of flowers, interspersed at intervals with the Hags of England 
and America blended and interchanged. At one end and the other of 
the spacious ball-room were placed portraits of Queen Victoria and 
the illustrious Washington, each canopied with the combined flags of 
the two countries, and in various parts of the rooms were placed busts 
of her Majesty, the Prince Consort, Washington, Franklin, and other 
distinguished persons of either country. 

" The superb chandeliers were decorated with flowers to the number of 
many hundred, and each lady was presented, on her entrance to the 
room, with a choice bouquet. The guests began to ai'rive about nine 
o'clock, and by half-past nine the streets appropriated for the auditory 
of the concert with which the entertainment commenced, were en- 
tirely filled. The concert itself was of a high order ; and when we 
name Catherine Hayes, Crevelli, Lablache, and Gardoni as the per- 
formers, it is almost needless to add, that it passed off' most brilliantly. 
After the concert, the seats were removed, and the spacious ball-room 
was cleared for the dancers, who commenced dancing at about eleven 
o'clock. Up to this hour, the guests had continued to arrive. At about 
half-past eleven the Duke of Wellington arrived, and was met in the 
reception-room by Mr. Peabody, who conducted his grace through the 
ball-room to the dais, where he was welcomed by the American minis- 
ter. The band played the accustomed recognition of " See, the Con- 
quering Hero comes ;"but the enthusiasm did not reach its height until 
the Duke, with Mr. Peabody, and the American Minister on either side 
of him, took his seat in the centre of the dais, and directly imder the 
portrait of Washington, when the assembly gave a prolonged burst of 
cheering. After this had subsided, dancing recommenced, and con- 
tinued until a very late hour, interrupted only by the intervention of an 
elegant supper. The Duke of Wellington remained until past mid- 
night, and many others of the more distinguished visitors remained 
until the breaking up of the party. The whole of the ground floor of 
Willis' rooms was devoted to the arrangements for supper, and these 
rooms, like those above, were decorated with flowers, flags, busts, and 
various other graceful and artistic objects. 

" It is but an act of justice to mention, that the perfection of all the 
arrangements is attributable solely to Mr. Mitchel, of old Bond-street. 
That gentleman having received a carte blanche from Mr. Peabody, 
availed himself of such an unrestricted license, to furnish an entertain- 
ment so complete in its details and magnificent in its ensemble, as 
rarely to have been equalled." 

The following are extracts from the account of the Danvers centen- 
nial celebration, and the speeches made upon that occasion. 

" It having become known among the guests that a conmiunication 
had been received from George Peabody, Esq., of London, the read- 



438 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICAM3. 

I 

ing of it was called for. It was preceded by the following sentiment, 
the announcement of which, and the response it elicited, exciting the 
most intense sensation. 

"The sentiment was — Our fellow-citizen, George Peabody, of London : 
holding the highes-t rank among nature's noblemen, and distinguished in 
the great centre of the commercial world, he has always done much 
for the credit and honor of his country, and has remembered with kind- 
ness and affection the place of his birth. Danvers may well feel a 
just pride in the sucoessful career of such a son." 

" John W. Proctor then rose, and holding in his hand a sealed packet, 
read the following letter : 

" London, May 26th, 1852. 

" Gentlemen, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
letter, inviting me to be present at the celebration of the one hundredth 
anniversary of the separation of Danvers from Salem, on the 16th of 
June, or if not able to attend, to signify by letter my interest in the 
occasion. I am very sorry that my engagements allow me to comply 
only with the latter part of your request. I should have the greatest 
pleasure in joining in yonr interesting celebration there, if possible. 
The early associations of my life are clustered around our ancient 
town. It was, as many of you know, in a very humble house, in the 
south parish, that I was born, and from the common schools of that 
parish, such as they were in 1803 to 1807, I obtained the limited edu- 
cation my parents' means could afford ; but to the principles there in- 
culcated in childhood and early youth, I owe much of the foundations 
for such success as Heaven has been pleased to grant me during a 
long business life. Though my manhood, before coming to England, 
was spent in Baltimore, which shares with my native town in my 
kindest feelings, I still cherish the recollections of my earlier days, 
and anticipate with much pleasure a visit to the old parish, that I may 
witness the great strides I am told you have been making in wealth 
and improvements. It is now nearly sixteen years since I left my 
native country ; but I can say with truth, that absence has only deep- 
ened my interest in her welfare. 

" During this interval, I have seen great changes in her wealth, in 
her power, and in her position among nations ; I have had the mortifi- 
cation to witness the social standing of Americans in Europe very 
seriously affected, and to feel that it was not entirely undeserved ; but, 
thank Heaven, I have lived to see the cause nearly annihilated by the 
energy, industry, and honesty of my countrymen ; thereby creating 
between the people of the two great nations, speaking the English 
language, and governed by liberal and free institutions, a more kind 
and cordial feeling than has existed at any other time. The great 
increase of population and commerce of the United States, the deve- 
lopment of the internal wealth of the country, and the enterprise of her 
people, have done much to produce this happy change ; and I can 
■scarcely see bounds to our possible failure, if we preserve harmony 
among ourselves, and good faith to the rest of the world ; and if we 
plant the unrivalled New-England Institution of the common school 
liberally among the emigrants who are tilling up the great Valley of 



GEORGE PEABODY, OF LONDON. 430 

the Mississippi. That this may be done, is, I am persuaded, no less 
your wish than mine. 

" I enclose a sentiment, which I ask may remain scaled till this 
letter is read on the day of the celebration, when it is to be opened, 
according to the direction on the envelope. 
" With great respect, 

" I have the honor to be 

" Your fellow-townsman, 

" George Peabody. 
" To Messrs. John Proctor, Andrew 
Nichols and others." 

" The endorsement on the envelope was as follows : 
" The seal of this is not to be broken till the toasts are being pro- 
posed by the chairman at the dinner, 16th of June, at Danvers, in 
commemoration of the one hundredth year since its severance from 
Salem. It contains a sentiment for the occasion, from George Pea- 
body, of London. 

" By George Peabody, of London : — Education — A debt due from 
present to future generations. 

" In acknowledgment of the payment of that debt, by the generation 
which preceded me in my native town of Danvers, and to aid in its 
prompt future discharge, I give to the inhabitants of that town the 
sum of twenty thousand dollars* for the promotion of knowledge and 
morality among them. I beg to remark, that the subject of making a 
gift to my native town has for some years occupied my mind ; and 
I avail myself of your present interesting festival to make the com- 
munication, in the hope that it will add to the pleasures of the day. 
I annex to the gift such conditions only as I deem necessary for its 
preservation, and the accomplishment of the purposes before named. 
The conditions are — That the legal voters of the town, at a meeting to 
be held at a convenient time after the 16th of June, shall accept the 
gift, and shall elect a committee of not less than twelve persons, to 
receive a nd have charge of the same, for the purpose of establishing a 
Lyceum, for the delivery of lectures upon such subjects as may be 
designated by a committee of the town, free to all the nihabitants, 
under such rules as said conunittee may from time to time enact ; and 
that a library shall be obtained, which shall also be under the direction 
of the committee. That a suitable building for the use of the Lyceum 
shall be erected, at a cost, including the land, fixtures, furniture, &c., 
not exceeding seven thousand dollars, and shall be located within one- 
third of a mile of the Presbyterian meeting-house, occupying the spot 
of that under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Walker, in the South 
Parish of Danvers. That ten thousand dollars of this gift shall be 
invested by the town's committee in undoubted securities as a perma- 
nent fund, and the interest arising therefrom to be expended in sup- 

* Mr. Peabody has since added $10,000 to the gift; making the amount 
$30,000, to enable the committee to erect a building amply sufficient to accom- 
modate the inhabitants of the town. 



440 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



port of the Lyceum. In all other respects I leave the disposition of 
the Lyceum to the iiih;ibitants of Danvers, merely suggesting that it 
might be advisable for them, by their own act, to exclude sectarian 
theology and political discussions for ever from the walls of the insti- 
tution. I will make one request of the committee, which is, if they 
see no objection, and my venerable friend. Captain Sylvester Proctor, 
should be living, that he be selected to lay the corner-stone of the 
Lyceum building. 

" Respectfully, yours, 

"George Peabody." 

" After the announcement of the donation by Mr. Peabody, 
"Mr. Proctor remarked, substantially, as follows: — Mr. Chairman — I 
scarcely know which to admire most, the liberality of the gift, or the 
modesty of the giver. A princely donation like this, for a purpose 
like this, to a place like this, is no ordinary occurrence. We hear of 
the donations of Girard, of Smithson, of Buzzy, and others, in amounts 
larger than this ; but w here is there one, all things considered, that 
will begin to compare with this ? Look at the sentiment accompany- 
ing it. Education — A debt due from present to future generations. 
What more simple ? Still, what could be more expressive ? 

" Look also at the recognition, by Mr. Peabody, of the village school 
under the shadow of the steeple of the old church, where he and I, 
and many others now present, were first taught to lisp their ABC; 
and see how readily he admits, ' it was there he imbibed the princi- 
ples which have been the foundation of the success which heaven has 
been pleased to grant him during a long business life.' Can there be 
a higher eulogy than this upon our New-England system of Free 
Schools ? When a boy I knew Mr. Peabody well. Our ages were 
such that we went to the same school, and developed our physical 
energies on the same playgrounds. From the first he was manly and 
honorable as he has ever since been. Nothing small or mean about 
George Peabody. If anything wrong was done he was the last to be 
suspected of it. I say this for the information of those of my young 
friends who seem to think there is something manly in being forward 
to do mischief, in being most active in overturning outbuildings, or 
breaking the windows of retired gentlemen, or breaking the repose of 
discreet young ladies. They mistake entirely who indulge any such 
ideas. Peabody never did any such things. While I knew him he 
was a civil, well-behaved, trustworthy young man. And now, my 
young friends, you see what he has ripened into ; first among the 
foremost of Americans in London, a nobleman by nature, of rank 
second to none other. It has been my good fortune to have had 
repeated communications with Mr. Peabodv since he became a man. 
As early as 1835, when he resided at Baltimore, the citizens of South 
Danvers undertook to erect a monument to the memory of those of our 
fellow-townsmen who were killed at Lexington on the 19thof April, 1775. 
When we had raised by subscription 700 dollars, and ascertained that 
the structure designed would cost 1,000 dollars, I advised him of the 
facts, and received from him a prompt reply, saying, that he " was 
happy to learn that his fellow-townsmen of Danvers were about to do 



GEORGE PEABODY, OF LONDON. 441 

what had been too long neglected, and that my draft on him at sight, 
for whatever might be needed to complete the design, should be duly 
honored. 

" The work Avas completed, and the draft was paid. Again, when 
the Church of the South Society, a new structure, had occupied the 
site of the one described as ' The Presbyterian Meeting-House, where 
the Rev. Mr. Walker formerly was pastor,' was destroyed by fire, the 
Society, with much exertion, having just completed the same, my 
friend on the right, (Hon. Robert L. Daniels,) joined me in a note to 
Mr. Peabody, stating the facts, to which he replied with an appropri- 
ate expression of his sympathies on the occasion, accompanied by a 
bill of exchange for £50 sterling for the use of the Society. 

" Such has been my knowledge and experience of George Peabody 
of London. You may well suppose when I received from him a pri- 
vate note, accompanying the envelope that contained the donation, with 
a request that it should not be opened till the company was seated at 
dinner, because it contained a ' sentiment of interest to the people of 
Danvers,' that I imagined it to be a rich sentiment. I did, indeed, so 
imagine. But I frankly admit it exceeds my highest imagination ; 
and what was peculiarly gratifying to me, the same note that gave me 
this information, also authorized me to subscribe in his behalf the sum 
of fifty dollars towards the erection of an appproriate monument at the 
grave of our late fellow-townsman, the venerable General Gideon 
Foster, who died at the age of 96, with a character for industry, honor, 
and integrity, rarely equalled. 

" Such are a few of the acts of this model of a man, that Danvers 
feels proud to call her own. May those who are still of Danvers show 
themselves to be worthy of his bounty. May it be received and man- 
aged in a manner most gratifying to the giver. May no local jealousies 
or meaner passions be sufTered to enter here. May those of Danvers 
in fifty-two .show themselves to be worthy their sires of seventy-six." 

P. R. Southwick, Esq., here rose and spoke as follows : — " Mr. 
President, I rise to pass a slight tribute of respect to that distinguished 
gentleman whose interesting letter has just been read to us ; a gentle- 
man with whom so many of us were familiar in our early years ; 
whose enterprise and liberality, whose private virtue and moral worth 
excite the deepest regard and admiration, not only in his own country, 
but in Europe. As regards Mr. Peabody's early advantages in life, he 
owes nothing to the influence of birth and fortune. Though of highly 
respectable parentage, he claims no alliance to the aristocracy of 
wealth and power adventitiously bestowed. From his youth, his mind 
was iml)ued with sound principles. Early convinced of the value of 
time, he rightly estimated the importance of improving the opportuni- 
ties and advantages of education with which he was favored ; and we 
find him early distinguished by those habits of industry, and by that 
purity of moral conduct, which have ever since been pre-eminent in 
his character. He has been promoted entirely by his own exertions 
and merit. At home and abroad, in his youth and in his manhood, 
industry, decision, and perseverance characterize every stage of his 
life. I have already said Mr. Peabody enjoys the highest reputation 
as a merchant. He exhibits the most perfect example of assiduity, 



442 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

sagacity, and foresight in his business transactions. Perfectly familiar 
with the currency of every part of the world ; thoroughly acquainted 
with the resources, the financial condition, and the banking systems of 
different nations ; enjoying the entire confidence of corporations and 
individuals, his mercantile transactions are confined by no sectional 
limits, and he extends his operations with perfect freedom and safety 
in every direction. His judgment is clear, deliberate, and peculiarly 
discriminating. He regards ' punctuality as the soul of business ;' 
and never violates the most trivial engagements. His intercourse in 
his business connections with others is always attended with frankness 
and candor ; and we rarely if ever meet with a merchant of eminence 
so entirely undisturbed by the jealousy or envy of others. He never 
exhibits in his business transactions any of those little tricks and con- 
cealments which indicate a weak and dishonorable mind. He holds 
in abhorrence that meanness of spirit which, for a little apparent profit, 
would insinuate evil of another, or even consent by silence to a mis- 
taken estimate of his worth. He has none of that jealousy which fears 
a rival in every person pursuing the same end ; nor of that arrogant 
self-esteem which owns no fallibility of judgment. In all his inter- 
course with his mercantile brethren, he is gentlemanly and respectful, 
and secures their esteem, not less by his acknowledged abilities than 
by his modesty and courtesy. The free expression of opinion, up- 
rightly formed, he believes to be the right and duty of an honest man, 
and to the exercise of which by others he is unusually tolerant. His 
opinion is of the highest authority ; but it is given with so much mo- 
desty that he never gives offence, even where there might be difference 
of judgment. There is nothing haughty or arrogant in his character ; 
and the feelings of respect which his acquaintance excites, arise from 
his dignified deportment, combined with native simplicity of manner. 
Mr. Peabody's moral sensibilities are exalted and refined ; but if any 
one quality of his heart prevails and acts as a presiding divinity over 
the man, it is his benevolence. The citizens of his native town, as 
well as in every community in which he has lived, will never forget 
or cease to feel the influence of his generous acts. The various acts 
of his munificence, both public and private, I will not detail to you 
here. 

" They are already a by-word upon our lips. Although the hand of 
time may obliterate the pages upon which the gifts of our valued friend 
are recorded, we trust that his memory and the objects of his generous 
care will be cherished, till time shall be no more. 

" The proverbial benevolence of Mr. Peabody prompts him to seek 
out rather than shun adversity, and when it is discovered, he never 
' passes by on the other side.' His heart is alive to all the tender 
and generous sensibilities of our nature, throwing the drapery of kind- 
ness over the chamber of aflliction, and lighting up by the sunshine of 
benevolence the sky overcast by distress and adversity. In public 
improvements in the various efforts for moral elevation and intellectual 
advancement, or for advancing the interest and comforts of all around 
him, the heart and hand of George Peabody are readily enlisted. He 
is the ardent and active friend of social order, and of the substantial 
institutions of society. To the presence of his benevolent affec- 



GEORGE PEABODY, OF LONDON. 44^'] 

tions he is indebted for that graceful and easy politeness, that unas- 
suming suavity of temper, which are so conspicuous in his intercourse 
with others, and which so justly and eminently entitle him to our gra- 
titude, and secure for him unrivalled esteem, afi'ection, and respect. 
On the character of such a man as George Peabody, we can dwell 
only with delight and satisfaction. 

" It has no shades, no dark spot, which his friends would desire to 
conceal or remove, no eccentricity to detract from its merit. His 
well-balanced mind leads him to right views upon every subject. His 
acute moral sense has always kept him in the path of rectitude. He 
possesses honesty that cannot be corrupted, and integrity that cannot 
be shaken by adversity. His inflexible moral principles art written 
upon his countenance, upon every word that falls from his lips, and 
upon every action of his life. Such is George Peabody. 

" The town of Danvers ouglit justly to be proud of that favorite son, 
whose life and character, whose urbanity of manners, and whose mer- 
cantile experienx;e are producing a beneficial influence upon the mer- 
cantile character of Great Britain that is entirely beyond a parallel. 
May his example stimulate all our young men, who are pressing for- 
ward in the path of high and honorable distinction." 
The following sentiment was then given : 

" Our fellow-townsman, Sylvester Proctor, Esq., venerable for his 
years, and honored for his virtues. It is a proud distinction for him 
to sit in the seat at our festival, designed for George Peabody, of 
London." 

(Mr. Peabody had requested that Mr. Sylvester Proctor should oc- 
cupy the seat he would have filled had he been present.) 

EXTRACT FROM THE SPEECH OF JUDGE WHITE. 

" But especially and most of all, would I congratulate you upon the 
richest incident of the day — the noble benefaction which has just been 
announced — truly, a noble close to a noble celebration. 

" For ever honored be the name of George Peabody, your distin- 
guished fellow-townsman of London, for his bountiful gift, and its wise 
appropriation. Well does he deserve the burst of grateful enthusiasm 
which you have so spontaneously given him, and which your children 
will catch from you. This gift, so appropriated, is in the very spirit of 
your celebration ; in the very spirit of the fathers whose memory you 
venerate. The expressed sentiment accompanying the gift consecrates 
it the more entirely, and will the more endear the name of the high- 
minded donor. That ' education is a debt due from present to 
future generations,' was a fundamental principle with our sagacious 
forefathers, manifested by them in all their conduct. To the steady 
operation of this principle are we chiefly indebted for our choicest 
blessings. If we value these blessings, let us never forget the means 
of perpetuating them. George Peabody is doubly your benefactor, by 
reminding you of your high obligations, and at the same time by en- 
larging your ability to fulfil them. 

FROM THE SPEECH OF THE HON'. ROBERT S. DANIELS. 

" There is one more of our native citizens to whom, under the cir- 



444 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



cumstances of the occasion. I feel at liberty to allude, and of whom 
my friend near me (Mr. Proctor) has spoken so justly and truly, and 
that is George Peabody, Esq., of London ; and it was my fortune to have 
known him, and to have associated with him in some measure before 
he left his native town — not so much, however, as my brother David, 
who, I believe, was one of his most intimate friends. I recollect 
George Peabody as an active, intelligent young man, of dignified de- 
portment, tall and commanding in person , and I ask what has made 
him what he is ? A resident of London, of immense wealth, highly 
respected and esteemed throughout the world for his high sense of 
honor, his unbending integrity, his public spirit, his humanity, his 
generosity, and his elevated standing among the merchant princes of 
the old and new worlds. There is no one here to-day (and there are 
but few who have known how he has passed along from our common 
district schools to his present elevated position) but would say that his 
character all the way through life must have been distinguished for 
industry, for integrity, for virtue, for honor, and all those characteris- 
tics which command the respect and esteem of all persons of all ages. 
These are all necessary to a successful business career. Think of 
these things, young men ! You, probably, cannot all be George Pea- 
bodys ; but you may attain to a desirable and respectable standing in 
the community ; and some of you, if you will but adhere to the rules 
of life which must have governed him, may obtain wealth and an 
honorable distinction ^mong your fellow-citizens, and a peaceful and 
happy old age, filled wath a glorious hope of a blessed immortality. 

" What town can point to a higher and nobler example, as incentives 
to stimulate our young men to a virtuous and correct deportment, than 
Danvers, when she points to Daniel P. King and George Peabody ? 
May the next centennial celebration find many of your names enrolled 
as high in the estimation of those who may meet on that occasion, as 
are those of Peabody and King at this time. I beseech you, keep 
them constantly in mind. It is a high aim, but not beyond your reach." 

Mr. Thayer, of Beverly, in his speech, alludes to Mr. Peabody and 
his donation in the following terms : 

" Would that it (the donation) might have its legitimate effect in 
prompting others near to, or distant from, the places of their birth, to 
like generous uses of wealth, and like splendid benefactions. Its 
author having by diligence, talent, high character, and, no doubt, 
favoring fortune, risen to opulence and commanding station, has had 
the wisdom to turn these to ends alike creditable and useful. In a 
dark hour of misfortune and disgrace, he brought them to retrieve and 
support his country's commercial honor. By a stroke of social policy, 
not less felicitous than bold, he converted a celebration of our national 
birthday on British ground into an enduring cement of peaceful union 
between our mother country and her rebel offspring. 

" To his countrymen abroad he has extended a heartfelt welcome and 
a cherishing hand, and among foreigners, made them at home. He 
has not unwisely, as so many do, waited to have his superfluous abun- 
dance dispense from a lifeless hand — to cast his bread upon the 
v.aters when it could return to him no more. He would not die with- 



GEORGE PEABODV, OF LONDON. 445 

out a sight of the tree, or without gathering from the fruit of the tree 
which he had himself planted. Not content, too, with cultivating the 
field immediately before him, and doing the good which lies directly 
about him, his large and true heart, quitting the cares and wliirl ol 
business in the world's great centre, leaving the scenes of his triumphs 
— of the affluence and splendor which surround him there, wh(>re he 
dwells prince among princes — a merchant prince indeed, one of right 
royal blood, that which flows in the veins of nature's noblemen, with 
the beautiful love for the place of his nativity, that is akin to the affec- 
tion for one's own mother, traverses the ocean and comes hither, seek- 
ing out the house in which he was born, the humble school-room in 
which he was early trained, the spot where stood the ancient church 
in Avhich he was taught to worship God, and from which it is provided 
with touching simplicity, in the conditions on which the institution he 
has so liberally devised is bestowed, ' that it shall not be far removed.' 
That enlarged and liberal heart is with us to-day — in spirit, though 
not in person, mingling with a ready and thorough sympathy in these 
joyous festivities, and crowning them with a wreath of princely bene- 
volence, thus rendering them thrice joyful, and by this golden offering 
laid on the festive board, and consecrated to good learning with the 
virtues and graces by which it is rightly attended and adorned, glad- 
denino- the hearts and immeasurably blessing the minds of multitudes 
of the present and countless future generations. Such an example, 
while it sheds lustre on our nature and universal man, belongs to tho 
world. All of us in this community, whence it originated, have a pe- 
culiar property in it, which, were it necessary, we should strenuously 
assert, of which you could not if you would, though I am sure you would 
not if you could, have any, even the humblest of us, deprived." 

Note. — We take the following from the National Intelligencer oi Februar}' I. 
1853: 

" Mr. Peabody is an American in heart and spirit, a business man of the best 
school, munificent in his charities and in the hospitalities of his house, and devot- 
ing them both to the cultivation of kindly relations between the land of bis tempo- 
rary adoption and the United States. When the Grinnell Expediiion had returned 
from the Arctic seas, more than a year ago, Congress was solicited to accept the 
services of the same vessels for a renewal of the search. At this time Mr. Pea- 
body wrote to his correspondent in this country : 

" ' I hope that Congress will nobly respond to what appears to be the feeling of 
the nation ; but, aware of the uncertainty of votes on appropriations of nmney for 
such objects, as well as of the short time remaining to make the required ariange- 
raents for the comfort and safety of our brave olhcers and men who are willing to 
risk their lives in the undertaking, I have to request you. in such an event, to sub- 
scribe for the purpose, in my behalf, the sum of ten thousand dollars.' 

" The project did not then go into effect, and it was only last month that Mr. 
Peabody was informed of the new expedition fitting out in charge of Dr. Kane, 
under the auspices of Mr. Grinnell. Replying to a friend who had given him the 
information, he writes : 

" 'When I made the offer ,in January last, a desire to gratify feelings of interna- 
tional good will and friendship made me anxious that an American expedition 
should accompany that of Sir Edward Belcher, to assist in the pursuit of an object 
worthy of the two countries, and honorable to the adventurous men who would 
volunteer their services. ♦ * * But as Mr. Grinnell says, that the pros- 
pect of success is as great as it was last year, I shall be happy to be an humble 
follower of that gentleman in his praiseworthy course ; and if it should be thought 
advisable to send out one or more vessels in search of Sir John Franklin and his 
companions, I fully authorize you to give in my behalf for that object ten thousand 
dollars.' " 




HvA.H.'R- 




ornBJsrs sjEZjS£:ji covt^ty na: 




y-:.;o' ^/!. 



-J]if>yraphu;al Skt.ec/iAif f?f^-minent^Tn^>Hoa-nR. 



BENJAMIN MARSHALL, 

OF NEW-YORK. 

The subject of the present sketch has no claims to political distinc- 
tion, far less to military renown. His triumphs are of a less brilliant 
order ; but whether less associated with the welibeing of his race, and 
with developing the resources, and fortifying the powers of a nation, 
than those of the political leader or of the military chieftain, the triie 
friends of humanity must judge. The wants of society have at last 
compelled one of the aspirants to empire to proclaim empire to be peace, 
and to promise to the people protection to the pursuits of peace, in 
order to make them the willing supporters of a throne, the pillars of 
which have heretofore been supposed to rest upon readiness for war- 
like achievements. The pursuits of industry are at last admitted to 
furnish the fairest field for the triumphs of man ; and the earliest and 
most successful of its cultivators are entitled to the most grateful re- 
membrance of their successors. 

Benjamin Marshall is among the first of those whose sagacitv, 
industry and capital, have laid the foundation of the commercial and 
manufacturing progress of this city and state. His ancestors emigra- 
ted from Scotland, and were the earliest settlers of the market-toAvn 
of Huddersfield, in England, where they erected the second house in 
the place, in which some of their descendants still reside. He was 
the youngest of six brothers, all of "whom were regularly educated 
as manufacturers either of woolen, cotton or iron. His own early 
pursuit was that of the cotton manufacture, and at the age of twenty 
years, in partnership with his brother Joseph, he brought an invoice of 
cotton goods to this city, in which he arrived on the sixteenth of 
August, 1803. The period for the establishment of the manufacture 
in this country was then premature, and his ideas were turned to com- 
merce. The periodical pestilence of the city of New-York was then 



448 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS 

raging, and his friends, Isaac Wright and Francis Thompson, invited 
him to their residence, in what was then the country, the old Stuyve- 
sant mansion, in what is now 13th-Slreet. His acquaintance with these 
friends ripened into an intimacy, leading to a connection in business 
which was terminated only by their death. Francis Thompson was 
largely engaged in the importation of woolen goods, and built a store in 
Beekman street, where he was joined by Benjamin Marshall, who im- 
ported cotton manufactures. The remittances for their importations 
were made in cotton, which led not only to their becoming interested in 
shipping, but to Benjamin Marshall's passing his winters in Georgia, 
where he witnessed the earliest cultivation of the cotton plant, and 
became intimate with TurnbuU, the iirst of the cotton planters in that 
state. This business was interrupted by the embargo, and terminated 
by the war of 1812. After the war, Benjamin Marshall, in connection 
with Jeremiah Thompson, resumed the importing and shipping busi- 
ness in the ordinary way, in Pearl-street, where each of them built a 
store, and continued the business until the year 1818. The latter 
year witnessed the commencement of a new era in the latter branch 
of business. The ancient mariners of that period of our commercial 
history considered it a presumptuous defiance of Providence to promise 
the departure of a ship for a regular day, without reference to winds 
or weather. These simple, perhaps superstitious men were not yet 
prepared either for the subsequent punctuality of steam, or for the ap- 
proximation to it which was possible without the intervention of that 
effective agent. Isaac Wright and Son, Francis and Jeremiah Thomp- 
son and Benjanain Marshall then established the first regular packet 
line to England, the first ship of which, the James Monroe, left port in 
a northeasterly snow-storm in January, 1819. The business at that 
time was small, the importations of measurement goods rarely exceed- 
ing three thousand tons per month, Ijut in four years the necessities of 
the commercial public called for a duplication of the line. The line 
then sailed twice a month, and the success of the system soon became 
so complete that line after line was established, in imitation of this, 
to other ports and other countries, until regular, periodical and punctual 
lines in every direction conveyed passengers and goods* from America 
to Europe and from Europe back to America. This earliest line, of 
which Benjamin Marshall was one of the founders, from its well- 
known signal of a tar barrel hoisted to the head of the top-gallant-mast, 
was known as the Black Ball Line, and is still continued by the same 
name under other proprietors. 

The production of cotton having largely increased in the southern 
states, and the tariff on imported goods at the time assisting the infant 
growth of manufactures, Benjamin Marshall, on his return from a 
second visit to his family and native country, in 1825, determined to 
withdraw from commerce and devote his means and his energies to 
manufactures. For this pursuit he was eminently prepared, not only 
by his early education, but by the benevolence of his disposition, and 
by a principle actuating him to use his wealth for the benefit of others 
as well as himself. Although he knew that much might be done by 
private benevolence, yet he felt that the hungry could not be fed and 
the naked clothed in any mode so satisfactory or effective as by fur- 



BENJAMIN MARSHALL, OF NEW-VORK. 449 

nishing them the means of feeding and clothing themselves by the fair 
wages of a fair day's work. In these views his brother Joseph joined 
him, and in connection Avith Benjamin Wolcott, they built, in 1825, 
the factory called the New-York Mills, the goods of which are known 
by names and nmnbers to every trader in the United vStates. In 1820 
they established the Hudson Print Works and Ida Mills Cotton Facto- 
ry at Troy, which they carried on together till 1834, when they dis- 
solved their business connection, Joseph taking the print works and 
Benjamin the manufactories, which had then become the largest in the 
state. The fluctuations in business led to the sale of the print works 
before the death of Joseph Marshall, which occurred in 1847, about 
which time Benjamin Marshall sold his interest in the New-York 
Mills to the present proprietors, and devoted himself exclusively to his 
establishment at Troy. By tuimeling and other improvements he has 
made a water-power, naturally abundant and effective, perhaps the 
finest in the world. This power is applied to the various manufac- 
tures of paper, hardware, cotton goods, and tapestry and A^elvet carpets. 
The first looms that have succeeded in the manufacture of the latter 
description of carpeting by power, were erected here. 

Benjamin Marshall was married in 1803 to Niobe Stanton, the <5nly 
child of Captain John Stanton. With this lady, well known and 
aff'ectionately remembered by the pious and benevolent, and devoutly 
blessed by the poor of her day, he lived in uninterrupted harmony and 
happiness till 1823. Now in his declining years, with the retrospect 
of a life, diu-ing which he may well be conscious of not having buried 
his talent in the earth, he has leased out his active business interests 
to others, and occupies himself almost exclusively with the planning 
and building of an infirmary for the sick and lame at Troy. This in- 
stitution, with a large endowment from himself, and with the aid ol 
many of the benevolent and public-spirited citizens of Troy, is destined 
to become one of the most useful and laudable establishments in the 
country, and the ornament and pride of the city in which it is erected. 
Let the " merchant princes" and the " cotton lords" of our land, (as 
they are sometimes invidiously termed,) follow this example, and we 
shall soon equal in public establishments for benevolent purposes the 
countries which have existed for centuries, and where the need of 
them, happily for us, is tenfold that of our own. 

On a review of the half century which has passed since the subject 
of this slight memoir landed on our shores, he might find abundant 
cause to congratulate himself upon the worldly success of his enter- 
prise, his industry and his perseverance. In his mercantile career his 
bark has ridden in triumph over the shoals and quicksands of fluctua- 
ting credit, through the forced calms of non-intercourse and embargo, 
and has survived unharmed the storms of war ; from the infancy to the 
maturity of his manufacturing enterprises he has seen hundreds of his 
collaborators sink under the ruins of establishments prostrated by sud- 
den chaiiges in national policy and by violent financial convulsions, 
but he has been enabled to carry his own, various as they have been, 
through all the changes of tariffs, the demolition of the national and 
successive extinction of hundreds of state banks, and through all the 

efl^ects upon credit produced by state repudiations and almost universal 

• 29 



450 • SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

bankruptcy. Who shall say that the souls of men of business have 
not been as much tried through this half century as those of patriots 
were tried through the quarter that preceded it ? 

The writer of this can testify from personal knowledge that the ex- 
ertions of Benjamin Marshall have been sustained throughout this 
whole period and through all the perils which from time to time have 
beset his path, by an unfailing trust in Providence, and that he looks 
to the Giver of every good and perfect gift as the Author of all his suc- 
cess. In this feeling, or rather principle, his early associates, who 
have been long resting from their labors, sympathized with him entire- 
ly ; and when, in the due course of nature, he shall pass like them from 
a useful and blameless life to a peaceful and hopeful death, he will 
leave to his survivors an example in the former, and a proof that the 
righteous are never forsaken in the latter. 



i 





i 



STEPHEN M. ALLEN, 



OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. 



The subject of the followirig- sketch furnishes one of those rare exem- 
plificatioiis of the successful " pursuit of kno^v]eclge under difficulties," 
which ought to be regarded with pride and admiration by every man 
who realizes the true dignity of his nature. Such instances, springing 
entirely out of humble life, supported solely by a self-poising energy, 
inherent and irrepressible, stand out, occasionally, in bold rehef, glori- 
ously prominent upon the broad field of human action. They rise into 
monuments far more imposing and interesting than the most pompously 
inscribed coiumiis and tablets of the ancient oriental monarchs : for they 
speak a language that interprets itself, and may be contemplated by suc- 
cessive generations with accumulating moral and social benefit. 

Stephen M. Allen was born in the town of Burton, N. H., on the 15th 
of April, 1819, and is now, consequently, 34 years of age. He is the 
third of four children, being preceded by a brother and sister, and hav- 
ing a younger sister. His paTeni«;, Isaac and Betsey S. Allen, were highly 
respectable, religious, and intelligent people, ardently attached to their 
oftspring. Although in very moderate circumstances, they ever faith 
fully devoted a most liberal share of their limited means to the propa 
culture and support of those whom Providence had placed in their 
charge : and they still live in the enjoyment of those results of their 
parental care and fidelity, which are evinced so happily in the prosperity 
and the elevated reputation of their children. 

Among the early settlers of the north-western part of his native state, 
were his paternal and maternal grandfathers, who emigrated from Mas- 
sachusetts soon after the war of the revolution. They were among the 
foremost of the patriots of that eventful period ; both fought at the bat- 
tle of Bunker Hill ; and one of them, Capt. Jeremiah Gilman, was 
colonel of a reo-iment durino- the war. 

The birthplace of Stephen M. is a most romantic and picturesque spot, 
reclining at the foot of Mount Corchorau, a spur of the White Moun- 
tains, the rugged summit of which is so admirably represented in Cole's 
celebrated picture of the " Hunted Chief" His early boyhood, until his 
eighth year, was spent amidst the rude beauty of this secluded home ; 
and his very first memories are connected with ideas of bold enterprise, 
and deeds of compulsory daring, which were forced into his opening 
mind by the natural objects that environed him, and the impressive inci- 
dents which he was made to witness and to feel. He had frequently 
beheld the destructive effects of storms and floods, and avalanches, upon 
the expected harvests of the husbandman ; and had derived a lesson from 
the patient and determined toil whereby these injuries were overcome and 
repaired. He had seen his father's inclosures invaded by hordes of raven- 
ous animals from the neighboring forests and glens — the orchards espe- 
cially, being objects of peculiar attraction — wherein, among the branches 
of the apple trees, the sullen bear and his companions would sit, and 
munch at leisure the summer sweetings, as though the grateful plunder 



452 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

were the imquestioned fruits of their own industry. And even from sucli 
spectacles might our young friend have drawn a parallel, touching the 
rapacity of some of his own species — an example of which he was des- 
tined ere long to experience. Amidst scenes and associations like these, 
he imbibed that veneration for the sublime and beautiful in the material 
world, that spirit of adventure stimulating the soul to its utmost legiti- 
mate efforts, and that profound sense of justice between fellow men, 
which soon began to glow in his imagination, to give freedom and vigor 
to his thoughts, and to indicate the outlines of his future career. Such 
were the stern beginnings, that constituted the foundations and buttresses 
of a character, in which energy, and perseverance, and liberality are most 
strikingly displayed. 

The next experiment in active life which young Allen was destined to 
undergo, was of a more painful nature than any that had sprung from 
the rude influences by which he had hitherto been surrounded : for it 
Avas the harsh and relentless work of human aa:encv. Somewhere about 
the year 1826, his father and six others were involved as sureties for a 
trader in the place, who became insolvent. This event led to a separa- 
tion of the little family, and to their expulsion from the homestead. The 
law, in its utmost rigor, was instantly enforced against the parties ; and 
all, save Mr. Allen, were incarcerated, and subsequently took "the poor 
debtors' oath." He was exempted only upon the strength of his solemn 
promise that, should his life be spared, he would ultimately pay the entire 
debt, " to the uttermost farthing." Hard indeed was the fate that threw 
the members of this innocent household upon the unsheltering expanse 
of a cold world ; and the father lamented it chiefly, because, said he, 
'' it denies me the privilege of securing for my children a suitable educa- 
tion." From this time, the three elder children were deprived of school 
advantages, and were dependent alone on the instructions of their parents, 
both of whom, fortunately, in early life had been school teachers. It is 
unnecessary to add that this duty, on their part, was fulfilled to the ut- 
most of their ability. The young pupils felt the privations to which they 
were subjected, and applied themselves with i-edoubled diligence to their 
allotted tasks. 

The parting from the family mansion was a deeply affecting incident. 
Nearly every article of furniture had been seized, and sold with the 
house, towards satisfying the creditors' demand. As the fond father, 
leading his houseless dependents, bade adieu, with tearful eyes, to their 
once happy dwelling, he paused a moment, and thus addressed them : — 
" We are driven from our home," said he, " penniless ; yet the debt is 
not satisfied. I am now only spared to you, under the assurance that 
it shall yet be paid in full. That pledge must be redeemed. If I fail, 
you must perform the promise ; and furthermore, this homestead must 
also be recovered. If you are true to the principles I have taught you, 
both of virtue and diligence, you will be enabled to accomplish this 
work, though I may not." Deeply did these calm and earnest words of 
a resolutely honest man sink into the hearts of his children. The 
injunction was remembered, and in course of time completely fulfilled — 
although its achievement consumed fifteen long years of the united 
labors of that struggling family. The execution was finally discharged 
— every dollar of principal and interest; the father's obligation was 



STEPHEN M. ALLEN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. 453 

liquidated, and the endeared domicile once more restored to its wonted 
occupants. 

In the meantime, new sources of subsistence must be sought out, a 
temporary abode provided for the self-banished wanderers, and means 
instantly devised for supplying their daily recurring bodily wants. The 
small manutacturing village of Dover was selected as a place of present 
refuge, and as aftbrdiug chances for the employment of a portion of the 
children. The two eldest were soon engaged in the simpler process of a 
cotton factory, and the mother commenced the business of a boarding- 
house ; while the father undertook the humble vocation of a cattle- 
drover, usually accompanied by young Stephen, in his excursions around 
the country. The latter had early manifested much mechanical taste 
and genius ; and when only nine years of ao:e he was placed in the manu- 
facturing establishment then under the superintendence of the late James 
Freeman Curtis. This gentleman took a hvely interest in his juvenile 
but zealous charge, instructed him in the elements of engineeiing, in the 
construction and uses of various descriptions of machinery, and 
gradually imparted to him a large amount of valuable practical informa- 
tion connected Avith the several branches of the cotton manufacture. 
He continued his studies in this department of mechanical science for 
some three years ; during which he made such rapid and remarkable 
progress, that he was enabled to calculate, accurately, the size and speed 
of every species of gearing in a cotton factory. At the age of twelve, 
he accompanied his father into the State of Maine, where the latter 
purchased a piece of land with the view of establishing a farm. Here 
they resided by themselves in a log cabin, for nearly a year, preparing 
materials for the construction of a dwelling-house and other buildings. 
Every stick of timber was felled by father and son, who also sawed every 
board at the mill. With the customary assistance of neighboring 
farmers, a small house and barn were erected and made I'eady for 
occupancy ; and again, with the exception of the two elder children, the 
family were brought together— a happy re-union after a separation so 
long and vexatious. 

At fifteen, after having wrought a year at the heavy trade of a black- 
smith, Stephen engaged himself to a company at Bangor, then largely 
concerned in the erection of mills on the Penobscot. At this period, 
the people in that quarter were extensively interested in the great 
eastern land speculation; and the services of practical engineers were of 
course in much demand. He remained with this company nearly two 
years, at the highest rate of wages paid to that class of operatives, 
notwithstanding his youth. It would have been easy for him to have 
entered upon, and ultimately carried out the desire of his heart — that 
of obtaining a classical education. But the pecuniary embarrassments 
of his father remained yet unremoved ; and to relieve these, he had 
ever deemed a paramount duty. With the view of completing his 
mechanical education, he forthwith proceeded to Boston, then liaving 
attained the age of seventeen. He entered the metropolitan wilderness, 
" solitary and alone," without money or friends, and knowing not an 
individual in the city. But the element of idleness was not among the 
ingredients of his composition ; and he soon obtained employment in 
the highly respectable establishment of Bryant and Herman, then 



454 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

largely engaged in the manufacture of stoves, &c. Here he found fine 
opportunities for the exercise and improvement of his artistic and 
inventive talent, and for acquainting- himself also with all the routine of 
mercantile life ; still continuing, however, to occupy all his spare time, 
especially during the evenings, in the untiring pursuit of his favorite 
vocation, determined to perfect himself in the art and mystery of an 
iron-woi'ker. Having quickly, and almost intuitively made himself 
master of the science of book-keeping ; and having, by a course of strict 
integrity, and diligent devotion to business, secured the cordial esteem 
and confidence of his employers ; he was intrusted with the management 
and control of both the mechanical and financial departments of the 
firm. Such had been his fidelity to the interests of tlie company, and 
the skill with which he had discharged his responsible duties, that, on 
attaining his majority, and commencing business on his own account in 
the same line, his employers at once aftbrded their most powerful aid. 

An act so generous and disinterested, was equally honorable to both 
parties. It was a high-minded tribute to the moral qualities as well as 
to the commercial abilities of the beneficiary — now launching forth upon 
the uncertain sea of human enterprise, without actual capital, and rely- 
ing for success solely upon honest purposes and rightly aimed energies. 
He has ever remembered that act with the profoundest gratitude ; "and 
has often been heard to remark, that during these latter years of his 
minority his character was formed, and had then attained its balance ; 
and that should he prosper in his future undertakings, securing at the 
same time a good reputation, he should feel indebted more to the disci- 
pline and example of the gentlemen of this firm, then to all other influ- 
ences by which he had been affected since he left the parental roof. 

When he entered, thus prepared, upon the hazardous field before him, 
it was not without a plan, also, in i-eference to his future course, and ulti- 
mate destiny. Having just succeeded in cancelling the balance of that 
bond, which for so many years had absorbed the united earnings of his 
family, he was now but square with the world, dependent entirely on 
that ineasure of credit which should accrue to him from a faithful and 
judicious application of the means furnished by his friends. He was 
ambitious to repay his pecuniary obligations with all possible despatch ; 
yet he I'esolved also, in furtherance of his earliest aspirations, to pursue a 
systematic course of practically useful studies. Intending always to 
remain connected with various branches of mechanical science, he desired 
to honor that profession by bringing to its aid all the resources that a 
studious life might supply from the treasures of classical and philoso- 
pliical learning. Included among his proposed researches, was an in- 
vestigation of the principles of legal science — not with any view of be- 
coming a practitioner, but for the purpose of acquiring such informa- 
tion in the premises as might be useful in the prosecution of his business 
as an artisan. He therefore took up the study of the law, under a 
respectable counsellor of Boston, devoting to it all his leisure hours, and 
pursuing it at intervals through several consecutive years, during the 
ordinary seasons of commercial relaxation. Within this period he 
entered the Law School at Cambridge, and having passed through the 
required course with great credit, received from Harvard University the 
degree of Bachelor of Law. At about this time, likewise, he made 



STEPHEN M. ALLEN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. 455 

several important improvements in machinery and other mechanical 
apparatus in his line of business, for which he obtained patents. In 
1844, in connexion with his more special vocation, he commenced tlie 
erection of a number of buildings, in Boston and Roxbury ; and within a 
short time thereafter had constructed more than one hundred dwelling- 
houses and stores in those cities — an enterprise which yielded vei'v 
handsome returns. In addition to these numerous concerns and cares, 
he found opportunity to visit nearly every State in the Union, and hav- 
ing a natural taste for mineralogical researches, to make himself familiar 
with the general geological formations of all parts of our country. 
These diverse operations show the activity and versatility of his mind. 

On his 22d birth-day, Mr. Allen allied himself in marriage to Miss 
Ann Maria, daughter of William Gridley, a highly esteemed merchant 
of this city. This lady, who is of superior education and accomplish- 
ments, possesses in an eminent degree the interesting qualities and ex- 
alted virtues which so admirably harmonize with temperament and 
habits like those of her worthy companion. They early selected Rox- 
bury as their place of permanent residence ; the citizens of which per- 
suaded him to enter their city government. Having served faitlifuUy in 
the council, of which he was ever an influential and assiduous menibei', 
he was next elected by a large popular vote to the state legislature. 
Throughout one of the most trying and protracted sessions ever known — 
that of 1851 — he was constantly at his post, interesting himself deeply in 
every subject of legislation, on all of which he acted with earnest fidelity 
to the best interests of his constituents, and a conscientious regard to the 
eternal principles of justice, which he deemed paramount to every con- 
sideration of mere party policy. He seldom undertook an elaborate 
harangue ; but his remarks, which were always to the point, were 
delivered in a manner so energetic and effective, that they never failed 
to command the attention and respect of his hearers. In the course of 
that session, it became his duty to act with committees having under 
consideration subjects of great practical importance. Among the docu- 
ments which emanated from his pen at this time, was one in relation to 
the culture of flax as a substitute for cotton, which created great interest 
in other parts of the Union, inasmuch as this subject had been taken up 
by the legislature of no other state. As a legislator he is ever remark- 
ably clear and decided ; for his extensive experience on general subjects, 
together with his practical knowledge of the various interests of a com- 
munity, gives him a quick perception of the real necessity of those whom 
he represents. 

Two years since Mr. Allen was elected a director in Cochituate Bank, 
and was soon thereafter made President of that institution. It has not 
yet lost one dollar since he has been in the bank, and is in a very pros- 
perous condition. He had made an impression on the financial world, 
having repeatedly been offered large commissions for going to Europe to 
negotiate loans, and large salaries to take the financial management of 
Railroad Corporations. He projected the Niagara Canal which, is now- 
being constructed, and is a director in the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Co., 
which is to be the water power for manufacturers ; and is also one of 
the prominent leaders of the great Lyons Iowa Central Railroad, running 
from the Mississippi to the Missouri river. He has established at his 
own cost and expense, public libraries in the town where he was born, 



456 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

also in the new town of Corinna, in Maine, where lie used to live. He 
has donated $5000 to the town of West Roxbuiy, where he now resides, 
for a public library, and has agreed to make a donation of $5000 to a 
new College in Indiana, to be called the Fulton College, whenever suffi- 
cient money shall be raised from other sources to establish it. He made 
a donation to his native state, of two pictures for the State House, one 
of Webster, and one of Woodbury, which cost $1000. He has educated 
three young men, one in each of the professions of Medicine, Law, and 
the Ministry. 

As a politician, Stephen M. Allen, following steadily in the track of his 
progenitors, is a true-hearted whig ; and does much, in an unostentatious 
way, for that party, among the young men of his age. He is one of those 
who have preferred working to talking; and has, therefore, met with 
extraordinary success in the several campaigns through which he has 
served. He has long been a contributor to two of the public journals, 
advocating whig principles ; and has also written much, under assumed 
signatures, for literary and scientific periodicals. His writings are lucid 
and comprehensive, evincing uncommon powers of application and analysis. 
As a compliment to some of his private productions, the honorary degree 
of Master of Arts was recently conferred upon him by Columbian Col- 
lege, D.C. 

As a man of business, Mr. A. is prompt, sagacious, energetic, and per- 
severing — at once liberal and just in all his transactions. When satisfied 
of the honesty of a cause, or the duty of an enterprise, he enters upon 
and pursues his object with an earnestness of effort seldom equalled, and 
a strength of determination not often baffled by surmountable obstacles. 
As a citizen, he is ever ready to promote the welfare of the community 
around him, and actively interests himself in the furtherance of every 
laudable work intended for the public benefit. In his manners he is 
remarkably aftable, slow to resent afi'ronts, candid and sincere in the for- 
giveness of injuries — properties which invariably distinguish a truly honor- 
able spirit. His social qualities and kind affections secure the strong 
attachment and friendship of all who know him well, and are able to 
appreciate true dignity of mind and purity of heart. Among his imme- 
diate fellow citizens, of every rank, he is regarded with a degree of favor 
to which few attain : he has ever sought to bring about a state of sym- 
pathetic feeling between the rich and the poor, the mechanic and the 
merchant, the professional man and the laborer — himself maintaining a 
happy medium among all classes. No consciousness of extraordinary 
success, or of rapidly accumulated wealth, prompts him to confine his 
intercourse exclusively to what is sometimes termed the aristocracy ; on 
the contrary, he looks with pity upon those shallow-minded and super- 
cilious creatures, who, having suddenly risen to opulence, contemn the 
agencies which elevated them, and attempt to assume the airs of here- 
ditary millionaires. Not only does his innate modesty revolt against those 
artificial distinctions in society, which spring solely from fortuitous riches ; 
but he takes pleasure in adverting to his obscure origin, in recounting the 
trials and difficulties he has been forced to encounter and to overcome ; 
and delights in his ability still, if need be, to toil at the forge, in the fabri- 
cation of any of the products of the hammer and the anvil. 

Though advised by many of his friends to adopt the practice of the 
law as a profession, and as a stepping-stone to the attainment of political 



STEPHEN M. ALLEN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. 45t 

distinction, he has never changed his original plan of identifying himself 
with mechanical and financial pursuits, nor believed that a title more 
valued can be conferred than that which he enjoys as a member of the 
Massachusetts Mechanics' Asssociation. And now, notwithstanding his 
partial withdrawal from that branch of business in which he first engaged 
on his own account, he is still extensively concerned in various manufac- 
turing and other industrial establishments, in this commonwealth, and at 
the West ; preferring the tranquil and even tenor of a life so occupied, 
to the more exciting and tumultuous race after public honors, though 
objects even of laudable ambition, in which men of far less tact, expe- 
rience, firmness, constancy, or merit, are often known to succeed. 

Although most of the facts and details here presented, respecting the 
early history of Mr. A., have been gathered from his immediate relatives, or 
from other authentic sources, it is in regard to his character as a friend, 
that the writer of this imperfect sketch is enabled to speak more directly 
and experimentally — having enjoyed for several consecutive years the 
advantage of a close intimacy, aflording the amplest opportunities for 
observation. In this interesting relation he exhibits all those philan- 
thropic attributes that constitute the perfection of what is known among 
men as friendship. Ardent and devoted, he is at the same time sincere 
and candid ; never fixing his affections upon objects that he has not first 
proved to be deserving — and never deserting those objects, even if com- 
pelled, in kindness, to administer an occasional reproof. Having once 
undertaken to render a service, or in any way to advance the cause of 
one whom he has admitted to his confidence, no consideration of policy — 
no dread of other men's frowns — can deter him from pursuing that design, 
perseveringly and determinedly, to its issue. Nor does he rest contented 
until his purpose be fulfilled, or any equal amount of good be secured 
by other honorable means. 

Delineations of character like the present, though concise, and possibly 
defective, are, nevertheless, demanded 2^''o bono publico. Individual dif- 
fidence may shrink from the exposition even of its own most cherished 
virtues. But honorable designs and noble deeds, though sought to be con- 
cealed, are public property. Justice to the subjects of such sketches, as 
well as to mankind at large, claims that we should " render unto Caesar 
the things that are Caisar's," while yet the current of life and usefulness 
flows freshly and vigorously ; nor delay until time shall have cast into 
oblivion events and examples, by which the world might have been profited, 
if earlier commemorated. 




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SROFESsaR OF mmapcBS susAoncE OFMEDicnm & clinicaz MEDicarE 
ht tse wissarGTorr uNivBRSirr, ofbaltimoke. iMESi^im . 



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JOHN C. S. MONKUR, 

PROFESSOR OF PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MEDICINE AND CLINICAL 
MEDICINE IX THE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE. 

Dr. Johnson observes, in the Life of Sydenham, that " there is no in- 
stance of any man, whose hfe has been minutely narrated, that did not in 
every jDart of it discover the same proportion of intellectual vigor." There 
may be exceptions to this rule, but the biography of Doctor Monkur does 
not furnish one ; on the contrary, like the illustrious physician whose life 
Dr. Johnson is presenting, the subject of our notice furnishes a striking- 
proof of the fact. 

Dr. John Cavendish Smith Monkur was born in Baltimore, December 
31st, 1800 ; his parents were of Scotch and English descent, and their 
pecuniary circumstances were easy. At an early age John was placed in 
the common schools of this city, and evinced a great fondness and atten- 
tion to his studies. Until he was thirteen years of age his time was con- 
stantly occupied in school discipline. 

The boy is the father of the man, has been often said ; and young 
Monkur's earlv studies shadow forth the industrv and manliness, and, if 
we might use the expression, enterprise of his mental organization ; for at 
his early age his progress in the science of navigation and lunar observa- 
tions was so remarkable as to induce his teacher to make his scholar his 
assistant teacher, in which position he continued two years. Here the 
future lecturer on medical science first learned the art of instructing others, 
in which he showed great aptness, and many of the ship-masters of the 
port of Baltimore, to this day, will tell that the lad Monkur first taught 
them navigation. 

Always industrious, even as a boy, John devoted his Saturday evenings, 
and w^hatever other leisure houi-s he might have, to the study of natural his- 
tory. He was especially fond of comparati\'c anatomy, and caugiit at every 
opportunity of making dissections in that department ; for which purpose he 
so frequently obtruded upon the premises of his neighbors for a cat or dog- 
not always a stray one, but sometimes a favorite, that it became a caution 
whenever he was seen about, and particularly among the maiden ladies — 
" Take care of your cat — here comes John Monkur after cats and dogs for 
skeletons." The future anatomist had in fact erected a considerable ana- 
tomical museum in the kitchen garret of his home, and there the mortal 
remains of more than one feline and canine favorite was suspended long- 
after the wonder as to what had become of them had ceased, and new 
favorites, destined to supply their places by the fireside, and finally to 
crowd them in the museum, were installed on the hearth-rua'. This fond- 
ness for anatomical pursuits, as it attracted the attention of the neighbor- 
hood, could not have escaped the parental eye or ear. It in fact induced 
his father to direct his attention to the study of medicine. As a prelimi- 
nary preparation he placed his son in the extensive drug and apothecary 
establishment of the Messrs. Sweetzer and Keever, in Baltimore street, 
where he remained twelve months. 

With a vdew of indulging in his favorite study of anatomy, in August, 



400 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

1816, young Monkur became a pupil in the office of Doctor Cosmo G. 
Stevenson. At this time his father's pecuniary circumstances were inde- 
pendent, and afforded him every faciHty for the advantageous prosecution 
of his studies. This advantage, however, did not continue long, his father 
became involved in sureties for others, and was soon bereft of all his pro- 
perty, and was obliged to leave his city and family to avoid imprison- 
ment. At this time the subject of our memoir was left entirely to his 
own resources, and for three years he w^as without any assistance or sup- 
port, save what was obtained ft-om a small class of night scholars, an oc- 
casional gift from liis preceptor, and the receipts for fugitive pieces of 
writing. He suffered many privations, and was embarrassed by many 
difficulties, but, undaunted, he continued to pursue his studies with the 
closest application. In consequence of his inability to clothe himself re- 
spectably, he spent the Sabbaths of three successive years closely in his 
room. He has been heard to say that he did not remember being in the 
street on the Sabbath in all that time. 

And we have often heard a lady say, who avers that under Providence 
she has more than once owed her life to Dr. Monkur's skill ; that when 
by her bed-side, and anxious to enliven her mind, the Doctor would laugh 
and ask her if she remembered how she used to dodge him when he 
wished to play the beau towards her in her girlhood on account of his 
toilet. 

These thinofs should be recorded, that all youn^ men similarly situated 
should be encouraged thereby to keep up heart of hope. Volumes have 
been written on the pursuit of knowledge under difficulties, and examples 
are every day occurring before the eyes of the youthful student to 
encourage him to endure and persevere. 

" The steep where Fame's proud summit shines afar," 

IS a toilsome one, and while the faint-hearted and the fitful fall off by the 
way, no matter what may be their resources and aids, for there is no 
"royal road to learning," those who have energies within themselves and 
the consciousness of capacity, but cry out " Excelsior," and advance with 
a keener determination. 

For want of means our student was compelled to delay the benefits of 
instruction in the medical college, and he continued his studies for three 
years, privately, before entering the medical department of the Univer^ty 
of Maryland as a pupil. He lost no advantages during this delay, but 
privately prepared himself in anatomical knowledge, and through the 
influence of the late Charles H. Wirgmam, merchant, of Baltimore, and 
his preceptor, Dr. Stevenson, he was admitted prosector to the late Dr. 
John D. God man, who was then demonstrator of anatomy in the 
University of Maryland, and whose early death was such a loss to medical 
sciencQ, This position gave our student his medical lectures free, and 
enabled him to graduate and receive his medical diploma in March, 1822. 

But before this, in 1819, the yellow fever fell upon Baltimore. It 
brought terror and dismay to the inhabitants, from its extent and 
fatality. All who wefe able deserted the city, and many of the resident 
physicians took to flight. In the worst period of the epidemic, when 
there was a great want of medical assistance, at the age of nineteen years 



JOHN C. S, MOXKUR, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND. 4(31 

young ^lorikur left his preceptor's office in the town, and repaired to Fells 
Point, the seat of the disease, and here devoted his whole time and 
energies to the relief of the afflicted. 

He remained to the close of the epidemic. To his devoted and trying 
services in their hour of need, his fellow-citizens bore loud and strong 
testimony. The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore passed resolu- 
tions thanking him for his zeal and devotion to the sick and dying, and 
compensating him for his services. It was during the months of August 
and September that the fever raged with such fatality as to present 
thirty to forty cases daily. Sad, indeed, were the many heart-rending 
scenes our youthful practitioner witnessed. It would take a volume to 
record them. His attention on the sick was incessant day and night. 
Notwithstanding the continuous day and life labors of the late Rev. John 
Moranville, and the late Peter Foy, Esq., of the Board of Health, whose 
services can never be forgotten by the people of Fells Point, there was a 
great want of assistance, which obliged young Monkur to fulfil the double 
duty of nurse and physician. In many houses every inmate was ill. 
Their drinks and nourishments had to be prepared for them. In many 
of liis visits our young practitioner would find his patients entirely un- 
cared for but by himself, with their faces, necks, and shoulders covered 
with black vomit and the blood which had oozed from their mouth and 
gums through the night, presenting a distressing and horrid spectacle. 
These were washed and left comfortable. In other houses the whole 
femily had died, leaving no friends to prepare them for the grave. Fre- 
quently no aid could be obtained to place them in their coffins, except 
the assistance of the " Black Sexton Hearseboy," and they were, for want 
of physical strength, obliged to tumble the bodies down stairs or out of 
the windows, inclose them in their coffins, and drag them to the hearse. 
During the epidemic young Monkur was twice called upon by the Mayor 
of the city, the late John Montgomery, Esq., and requested. to meet in 
"consultation" the then Professor Potter and the late Dr. Brown. His 
diffidence made him at first refuse, but he at last consented to do so at the 
solicitation of a number of prominent merchants, who felt assured that 
these gentlemen might be profited in their practice by his greater experi- 
ence in the observation and treatment of this fever. At the close of the 
epidemic, his friendly associations in so many families, general intercourse 
with the people, and his reputation for success in the tr<^atment of fever, 
placed him in the extensive and active practical duties of his profession. 

In 1822, after six years' pupilage, the subject of our memoir graduated 
in the University of Maryland, presenting a Latin Thesis, entitled, 
" Dissertatio de prohabilitaie seriei vasor-um in oeconomia animali 
existentium ad aerem secernendam destinatam.^'' On the reception of his 
diploma he found himself in a lucrative practice, which continued to in- 
crease daily in patients and profits. In 1823, Dr. Monkur was appointed 
physician to the Baltimore Eastern Dispensary, and in thisyearandthenext 
he fulfilled his duties with satisfaction to the directors of the institution. 

In 1828, Dr. Monkur planned and formed a society for the cultivation 
of the vine, entitled, " The Maryland Society for the Cultivation of the 
Vine." At a meeting called for the purpose, he delivered an address 
upon the advantages of the cultivation of the grape, and the substitution 
of a wholesome wine for the efiiects of the distillery. The Mayor of the 



462 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS, 

city, and a number of the most influential citizens, attended the meetmg. 
The address was adopted and published in the American Farmer of 1828. 
A society was formed, a constitution adopted, and officers appointed. 
The late General AVm. M'Donald was chosen President; George Fitzhugli, 
Esq., Vice-president ; Dr. John C. S. Monkur, M D., Corresponding Secre- 
tary ; and Dr. Richard G. Beet, M.D., Treasurer. An Act of Incorporation 
was obtained from the Maryland Legislature, with a capital of $12,000, 
and an experimental piece of ground purchased. Froin this time atten- 
tion to the cultivation of the grape became general, and is now advancing 
in the Western and Southern states. Di-. Monkur used pei-severing ettorts 
by correspondence throughout the states, and with the most promiuent 
citizens on the subject, which resulted in his furnishing several communi- 
cations in furtherance of his views in the American Farmer and other 
agricultural papers. 

In 1835, during Dr. Monkur's professional duties on Fells Point, and 
in his intercourse with the people, he felt the want of some public institution 
in which the people at large could assemble and have the opportunity of 
mental cultivation on subjects so necessary to their well-being and happi- 
ness. The youths especially required such a resort. Impressed with this 
necessity. Dr. Monkur determined to erect a building for the purpose, at 
his own suggestion and expense. He erected a suitable house at the cost 
of $5000, with museum, lecture, and hall-rooms. The first course of 
lectures in the institution named by the class "Fells Point Institute," was 
delivered by the Doctor himself on Popular Anatomy and Physiology 
to a class of four hundred citizens. The course occupied three months. 
After the course was finished. Dr. Monkur received a public resolution 
of thanks and encouragement, which was published at the time. With 
the Doctor's course of lectures was a course for English Grammar, by 
Captain Little ; a course of Natural Philosophy and Chemistry, by Dr. 
Wm. T. Leonard, M.D. ; and on Botany, by Dr. Wm. R. Fisher, M.D. 
The institution not only supported itself, but subserved several charitable 
purposes. 

In 1836, Dr. Monkur received the appointment of Professor of the 
Theory and Practice of Medicine, and Clinical Medicine, in the 
Washington Medical College of Baltimore (afterwards entitled the 
Washington University of Baltimore), and up to this time he has yearly 
given a course of lectures upon this subject. 

At the time of Dr. Monkur's appointment, the Washington Medical 
College had disposed of their building. The course of 1836 was 
delivered in the Fells Point Institute. The next year, in connexion 
with the medical faculty of the school, was founded the present Uni- 
versity College and Hospital building on Broadway. This house was 
erected on stock subscription, and cost $40,000. It was erected upon 
an entire new principle. The lecture hall, students' residences, and the 
hospital department, were under the same roof in the same inclosure, 
giving advantages to the student of medicine not possessed by any other 
school in the country. 

In association with his daily course of lectures, Dr. Monkur attended 
the hospital department as Professor of Clinical Medicine, when there 
were at least eighty beds occupied, giving a wide and interesting field of 
observation and instruction to the students. 



JOHN C. S. MONKUR, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND. 463 

If we were asked to cite some of the especial traits of Dr. Monkur'g 
professional character, we should say that acute perception and 
unwearied industry characterized him. Jle has an admirable tact in 
seizing .the most evanescent features of disease, in detecting slight, 
obscure, or latent symptoms. He is especially good at medical 
physiognomy, at recognising that evsemble of external signs which 
indicate disease ; a skill which is the result of long practice, of much 
experience, and above all, of the prolonged exercise of acute perceptive 
faculties. We have known him at first sight to determine the character 
of an obscure disease by his physiognomical skill alone. In this regard, 
he resembles the character we have formed of the celebrated Boerhaave 
more than any medical man within our knowledge. 

In addition to this, he is an admirable medical logician. He does not 
satisfy himself with the mere collection of symptoms, but he arranges 
them in his own mind in a lucid order. This makes him a most 
desirable consulting physician, because by this power, he deduces from 
the mass of heterogeneous symptoms, a clear and distinct idea of the 
actual pathological condition of the patient. 

His therapeutics are bold and varied. He does not content himself with 
simple, but is fond of a combiiiation of medicinal agents. He is also very 
rapid in his changes of medication to meet tho ever changing phenomena 
of disease, Avhile he does not lose sight of his general plan of operations. 

His industry is marvellous. With a large and wearing practice, he 
nevertheless finds time not only for extensive and varied reading, but 
.also for a collection and condensation of all the important facts and 
theories that are presented to him. His reading is so Avell tabulated 
that he can at any moment recur to any important fact he may need. 
He keeps a record of all his cases, with the age, sex, condition, time 
of attack, duration of disease, and all important facts. The striking 
cases are written out in full, but all, even the simplest, are arranged in 
tabular form. His office practice is always recorded in full ; and when 
other physicians have been attending his business for him during his 
sickness or absence from the city, they have been able to get the 
Avhole pathological history of a patient for years, by a reference to his 
office record case books. Such industry is of course of incalculable 
advantage to a medical teacher ; in that capacity he has been eminently 
successful. His office students enjoy real solid advantages, superior to 
those of any other office with which we are acquainted. He carries into 
his teaching that love of order and systematic progress which so 
strikingly characterizes him. The students are kept at the rudiments of 
the profession until they have -sufficiently mastered them, and his 
extensive office practice gives them abundant opportunity to learn both 
the recognition and the treatment of disease. 

As a lecturer, Doctor Monkur is remarkably full, clear, and profound. 
His style of speaking is easy and fluent. His voice is very distinct in 
pronunciation, and he is never at a loss for a word. As a clinical 
teacher we have never heard him equalled, though we have listened to 
very eminent masters of this art. His profound knowledge of disease, 
his admirable tact in recognising it, his numerous and varied therapeu- 
tical resources, and his excellent faculty of reasoning upon phenomena, 
give to his clinical lectures a peculiar interest to the student. We have 



464 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

never known him to shine more than when an intricate case, which he 
has never seen before, was presented to him at his clinique. While he 
examined the patient he lectured, and the students who were fortunate 
enough to be present at such an exhibition, heard him, as it wer.e, think 
aloud. His mode of observation, and his reasoning processes were 
exposed to them, and we have no hesitation in saying that an intelligent 
and thoughtful pupil could gain more important fundamental know- 
ledge in such a clinical lecture than he could in a volume of disquisitions 
on cases of disease. 

The subject of our sketch is now in the fifty-third year of his age, and is 
still engaged in a very extensive and lucrative practice, and enjoys the 
full confidence of his patients. As a physician his character may be 
sufficiently inferred from what we have written. 

At the age of twenty-five years. Doctor Monkur married Hannah, the 
widow of Nicholas Leeke. She was frugal, gentle, and distinguished 
for benevolence and devotion to her family. She died in April, 1846. By 
her he had one daughter, who died at the early age of two years. In 1848 
he was again married to Mary Catharine, daughter of John Busk, Esq., by 
whom he has had two sons. The elder died a few months past ; the 
remaining one is a promising boy, who, in remembrance and gratitude 
for the many favors received from the hand of his deceased preceptor, 
bears the name of Cosmo Gordon Stevenson. 




, Da?ti^^^° 



>M?^ 




PRESmENT OF TSB BAZTIMOUE FEMALE COLLEGE , 



NATHAN COVINGTON BROOKS, A.M., 

PRESIDENT OF THE BALTIMORE FEMALE COLLEGE. 

The path of the red man through the primeval forest is marked by 
his trail. A foot-print on the dried leaves, the treading down of the 
long grass, a branch turned aside, or a broken twig, serves to point 
out the path of the hunter. When the white man passes through, he 
cuts deep notches in the trees as he passes along, to indicate to his 
successors the path that he has taken. Is not the world a great green 
forest, through which we are all making our way, each to the best of 
his ability, and each striving to leave behind him as broad a trail as 
possible ? Tall trees clasp their arms overhead, and their thick foliage 
hides heaven from his view, yet still the traveller travels forward. 
Dense copses, thick with brush and bramble, cross his path ; and still 
he presses onward,- though broken branches and tattered garments, 
perhaps even drops of blood, mark his footsteps. Is there any so 
luckless as to pass through and leave no track behind, like the ship 
that ploughs a momentary furrow in the ocean, which the next moment 
is effaced for ever ? We believe not. We think that even the hum- 
blest leaves his mark — a strong or a faint one, a right or a wrong one, 
behind. We believe that every human being is born into the world to 
do a work ; and leaves not the world until his work, whether of doing 
or of suffering, is accomplished ; and that as material force, once brought 
into operation, can never be destroyed, but is propagated in a series of 
vibrations, from atom to atom, to the end of time ; so the force of 
mind is likewise indestructible and eternal. Happy he who uses this 
force wisely — who sets the seal of truth upon that portion of the 
scroll of time that is unrolled for him. 

It has long been a disputed question, whether the man of action 
or the man of thought exerts the greater influence on the world ; and 
though much may bo said on both sides, truth seems to lie between. 
The former makes the greater impression upon contemporaries ; the 
latter upon posterity. The influence of the former is the more in- 
tense while it lasts, but it soon reaches its highest point, after which 
it continually decreases ; while that of the latter, though small and 
perhaps unnoticed at first, goes on accumulating strength throughout 
eternity. The one is a summer shower, that drives pattering into the 
hard dry ground, and evaporates in the next hour of sunshine. The 
other is the soft and gentle rain of spring, that falls slowly and sinks 
deeply into the earth ; and though it may be forgotten for a while, it 
reappears after a season in the blooming flowers of spring and the 
rich fruits of autumn. The subject of the present sketch belongs 
partly to both these classes ; but we shall consider him principally in 
the character of a thinker and a teacher. In the short memoir that 
follows, the reader will not expect to find the romance of personal ad- 
venture, or the excitement of political intrigue, or the indescribable 
atti action of successful money-gathering. Let others admire the rain- 

30 



466 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

formed torrent dashing madly from the mountain's brow ; be ours the 
humbler but not less pleasing task to trace the broad, deep river, flow- 
ing noiselessly to the ocean, but spreading beauty and fertility wherever 
it flows. 

Nathan Covington Brooks was born in Cecil County, Maryland, on 
the 12th of August, 1809. His education was commenced at the 
West Nottingham Academy, then under the charge of the Rev. James 
Magraw, D. D., and he subsequently graduated at St. John's College. 
Diligent and persevering in his studies, both at school and college, his 
rapid progress and high attainments, in every branch of scholarship, 
won the regard of his teachers ; while his mild and amiable manners, 
his gen/le yet fearless disposition, endeared him to all his class-mates. 
While his principal delight was in the study of the classics, he devoted 
much attention to mathematics, and made many a long excursion into 
the domain of metaphysics. His acute and versatile genius seemed 
equally at home in the tragedies of Sophocles, the Calculus of Leib- 
nitz, and the profundities of Locke and Hume. His collegiate essays 
and speeches were distinguished by a characteristic broadness of 
thought and an equally characteristic luminousness of expression, that 
promised him a high rank among future authors. Like many other 
writers, some of his earliest eflbrts were in verse. Indeed, it might 
almost be said of him as of Pope, that he " lisped in poetry." So far 
from the truth is the common notion of poetry being an artificial and 
conventional investiture of thought, that poetry is, in reality, the lan- 
guage of nature, and prose the product of art. Flashing thoughts and 
burning passions find their natural vent in poetry ; it is only after long 
and patient constraint that they submit to the shackles of prose. The 
wild horse of the desert that has never felt bit or spur, leaps, and gam- 
bols, and gallops ; it is only when civilized and broken that he can be 
brought to the steady trot or the stately amble. Here we have at 
once the test and touchstone of true poetry. Are the words but a 
gaudy robe thrown over the thoughts to conceal their worthlessness, 
like the gorgeous mantle which the painter flings over his lay figure ; 
or is there a form of life and beauty underneath, half revealed and 
half concealed by the transparent drapery — beautiful where the fair 
proportions are clearly seen — exquisitely ravishing where imagination 
supplies what the artist had skilfully veiled ? Are the tropes and 
figures of the poet only a " tawdry paint with which the poor thoughts 
had submitted to be rubbed over in order to be made fine ;" or when 
the paint is rubbed off", can you still perceive the grandeur of the out- 
line and the beauty of the proportions ? Do the thoughts come hob- 
bling into the world, like a Chinese belle, bandaged into measure and 
squeezed into rhyme ; or does the rhythm appear to be spontaneous, 
and the rhyme accidental ? Above all, when rhyme and measure are 
destroyed, and the outward symmetry broken up, does the inward har- 
mony remain ? Can you still find the " disjecta membra poetae ?" 
Poetry at the present day is at a discount ; and it is the fashion to 
complain that our generation is particularly barren in poets ; but the 
popular complaint is perhaps only a popular delusion. If poetry is 
undervalued, as it undoubtedly is, that would prove, according to the 



NATHAN COVINGTON BROOKS, OF MARYLAND. 407 

principles of political economy, not the scarcity, but the abundance of 
the article. And though we have no poets of the first water among 
us — no Shakspeares, or Miltons, or Byrons, yet there is as much 
verse, and good verse, too, published every year in our magazines and 
newspapers, as would have made the reputation of a dozen of poets 
a century ago. The " fugitive poetry" of America is equal, if not su- 
perior, to that o[ any other country. Lengthened efforts of great men 
we cannot indeed boast of, for the " cui bono" query comes home 
forcibly, even to the poet that breathes our dollar-hunting atmo.sphere ; 
and long poems don't pay. But there is no scarcity of literary ama- 
teurs, who, in their hours of recreation and gentle dalliance with let- 
ters, betake themselves to poetry, as an amusement for their leisure 
hours, or a solace amid the rude trials of life ; and their verses reach 
us every week, or every month, and we read, and we smile or weep, 
as the case may be, and the magazine is thrown aside and forgotten 
Amid these heaps of glittering gems there may be some of paste, mere 
imitations that deceive only the ignorant ; and some of colored glass, 
that deceive scarcely any one : but there may also be found the real 
diamond, small it may be in size, but pure and sparkling. 

High in the first rank of these writers of occasional poetry stands 
Mr. Brooks. Nature in all her forms he has made the subject of close 
observation and profound reflection ; and in looking at Nature, he has 
used his own eyes, and not the spectacles of other writers. He has 
a keen relish for the beautiful, and a deep sympathy with the truthful 
and the good. His taste, formed on the finest models, has been ripen- 
ed and chastened by a patient study of the great monuments of anti- 
quity. His conceptions are always pure, and his language always 
appropriate ; his pathos never sinks into tawdry sentimentalism, and 
his loftier flights never degenerate into bombastic declamation. His 
thoughts seem to be the natural development of his mind ; and his 
words the unstudied expression of his thoughts. The music of his 
verse reminds us sometimes of the soft cadences of Hemans, and not 
unfrequently of the mournful harp of Bj'ron. 

In the following poem, which originally appeared in the London 
Literary Gazette, the melody of the verse, and the gentle play of ima- 
gination and feeling, strongly remind us of the former writer : — 



THE MOTHER AND CHILD. 

The flowers you reared repose in sleep. 
With folded bells where the night-dews weep, 
And the passing wind like a spirit grieves 
In a gentle dirge through the sighing leaves. 
The sun will kiss the dews from the rose, 
Its crimson petals again unclose, 
And the violet ope the soft blue ray 
Of its modest eye to the gaze of day : 
But when shall the dews and shades that lie 
So cold and damp on thy shrouded eye, 
Be chased from the folded lids, my child, 
And thy glance break forth so sweetly wild "^ 



4()8 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

The fawn, thy partner in sportive play, 
Has ceased his gambols at close of day, 
And his weary limbs are relaxed and free 
In gentle sleep by his favorite tree. 
He will wake ere long, and the rosy d awn 
Will call liim foith to the dewy lawn , 
And his sprightly gambols be seen again 
Through the parted boughs and upon the plain; 
But oh, when shall slumber cease to hold 
The limbs that lie so still and cold 1 
When wilt thou come with thy tiny feet 
That bounded my glad embrace to meet? 

The birds you tended have ceased to sing, 

And shaded their eyes with the velvet wing : 

And. nestled among the leaves of the trees. 

They are rocked to rest by the cool night breeze. 

The morn will the chains of sleep unbind. 

And spread their plumes to the freshening wind; 

And music from many a warbler's mouth 

Will honey the grove, like the breath of the south 

But when shall the lips, whose lightest word 

Was sweeter far than the warbling bird, 

Their rich wild strain of melody pour ? 

They are mute ! they are cold! they will ope no more ! 

When heaven's great bell, in a tone sublime, 
Shall sound the knell of departed Time, 
And its echoes pierce with a voice profound 
Through the liquid sea and the solid ground, 
Thou wilt wake, my child, from the dreamless sleep 
Whose oblivious dews thy senses steep. 
And then shall the eye, now dim, grow bright 
In the glorious ra3'S of heaven's own light ; 
The limbs that an angel's semblance wore. 
Bloom 'neath living trees on the golden shore ; 
And the voice that's hushed, God's praises hymn 
'Mid the bands of the harping seraphim. 

Take as a further example of Mr. Brooks's less impassioned manner, 
his lues upon the death of the unfortunate Shelley : 

SHELLEV's OBSEQUIES. 
Ibi tu calentem 



Debita sparges lacryina favillam 
Vatis amici. — Hob. 

Beneath the axle of departing day. 

The weary waters, on the horizon's verge, 

Blushed like the cheek of children tired in play, 
As bore the surge 
The wasted poet's form with slow and mournful dirge. 

On Via Reggie's surf-beaten strand, 

The late-relenting sea, with hollow moan, 

Gave back the storm-tossed body to the land ; 
As if in tone 
Of sorrow it bewailed the deed itself had done. 



NATHAN COVINGTON BROOKS, OF MARYLAND. 469 

Theie laid upon his bier of shells — around 

The moon and stars their lonely vigils kept. 
While in their pall-like shades the mountains bound, 

And night bewept 

The bard of nature, as in death's cold arms he slept. 

The tuneful morn arose with locks of light — 
The ear that drank her music's call was chill: 

The eye that shone was sealed in endless night : 
And cold and still 
The pulses stood that 'neath her gaze were wont to thrill. 

With trees e'en like the sleepers honors seared, 

And prows of galleys like his bosom riven, 
The melancholy pile of death was reared 

Aloft to heaven. 

And on its pillared height the corse to torches given. 

From his meridian throne, the eye of day 

Beheld the khidlings of the funeral fire. 
Where, like a war-worn Roman chieftain, lay 

Upon his pyre, 

The poet oi" the broken heart and broken lyre. 

On scented wings the sorrowing breezes came, 
And fanned the blaze, until the smoke that rushed 

In dusky volumes upward, lit with flame. 
All redly blushed 
Like melancholy's sombre cheek by weeping flushed. 

And brother bards* upon that lonely shore 
Were standing by, and wept, as brightly burned 

The pyre, till all the form they loved before, 
To ashes turned. 
With incense, wine and tears, was sprinkled and inurned ! 

The foUoAving Prize Poem is of a more serious and elevated cha- 
racter. It is the outburst of a mind deeply imbued with classic lore, 
and a knowledge of ancient religious ritual in all its forms, which turns 
from the beautiful yet vain imaginings of Grecian fable, the solemn 
grandeur of the Egyptian myth, and the gloomy rites of Eastern su- 
perstition, to the simple yet pure and sublime truths of the Gospel, and 
with a lofty paean hails the triumphs of the Cross : 



THE FALL OF SUPERSTITION. 

The Star of Bethlehem rose, and truth and light 
Burst on the nations that reposed in night. 
And c^iased the Stygian shades with rosy smile. 
That spread from Error's home, the land of Nile. 
No more, with harp and sisfrum, Music calls 
To wanton rites within Astarte's halls. 
The priests forget to mourn their Apis slain. 
And bear Osiris' ark with pompous train ; 

* BjTon and Leigh Hunt. 



410 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Gone is Serapis, and Anubis fled. 

And Neitha's* unraised veil shrouds Isis' prostrate head. 

Where Jove shook heaven when the red bolt was hurled, 
Neptune the sea — and PhcDbus lit the world ; 
Where fair-haired naiads held each silver flood, 
A faun each field — a dryad every wood, 
The myriad gods have fled ; and God alone 
Above their ruined fanes has reared his throne.f 
No more the Augur stands in snowy shroud. 
To watch each flitting wing and rolling cloud ; 
Nor Superstition in dim twilight weaves 
Her wizard song among Dodona's leaves ; 
Phcebus is dumb, and votaries crowd no more 
The Delphian mountain and the Delian shore ; 
And lone and still the Lybian Ammon stands. 
His utterance stifled by the desert sands. 

No more in Cnydian bower or Cyprian grove 
The golden censers flame with gifts to Love. 
The pale-eyed Vestal bends no more and prays, 
Where the eternal fire sends up its blaze ; 
Cybele hears no more the cymbal's sound, 
The Lares shiver the fireless hearthstone round ; 
And shattered shrine and altar lie o'erthrown, 
Inscriptionless, save where oblivion lone 
Has dimly traced his name upon the mouldering stone. 

Medina's sceptre is despoiled of might — 
Stretched over realms that bowed in pale affright, 
The Moon, that rose as waved the scimetar. 
Where sunk the Cross amid the storm of war, 
Now dim and pale is hastening to its wane ; 
The sword is broke that spread the Koran's reign, 
And soon shall minaret and swelling dome 
Fall like the fanes of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, 

On other lands has dawned immortal day, 
And superstition's clouds have rolled away ; 
O'er Gallia's mounts and on lona's shore 
The Runic altars roll theii' smoke no more ; 
Fled is the Druid from the ancient oak. 
His harp is mute — his magic circle broke ; 
And Desolation mopes in Odin's cells. 
Where spirit voices called to join the feast of shells. 

O'er Indian plains and ocean-girded isles, 
With brow of beauty. Truth serenely smiles; 
The nations bow, as light is shed abroad, 
And break their idols for the living God ; 
Where human streams in purple currents run, 
And votive flesh hangs quivering in the sun. 
Quenched are the pyres as shines Salvation's star, 
Grim Juggernaut is trembling on his car, 

* " I am all that is, that was, and that shall be, and no one has ever lifted my veil." 
t The Pantheon that was built to all the gods was transformed into a Christian 
church. 



i 



NATHAN COVINGTON BROOKS, OF MARYLAND. 411 

And cries less frequent come from Ganges' waves, 
As infant forms sink in untimely graves. 
Where heathen prayers flamed by the cocoa tree,* 
They supplicate the Christian's Deity, 
And chant, in living isles, the vesper hyrnn, 
Where giant god-trees rear their temples dim.f 

Still speed thy truth ! still wave thy spirit sword, 
Till every land acknowledge thee the Lord, 
And the broad banner of the Cross unfurled, 
In triumph wave above a subject world. 
And here, oh God ! where feuds thy church divide — 
The sectary's rancor and the bigot's pride — 
Melt every heart — till all our breasts enshrine 
One faith, one hope, one love, one zeal divine; 
And with one voice adoring nations call 
Upon the Father and the God of all. 

Thus light and truth shall lead thy empire on, 
Till in full blaze burst the millennial dawn: 
Then trumpet blasts the serried hosts no more 
Shall call where battle stains the fields with gore ; 
But Peace shall spread her circling arms abroad, 
And quiet reign on all the mount of God , 
The ox and spotted leopard graze the plain. 
The sportive children toss the lion's mane. 
And joyful nations in the shade recline. 
Beneath the olive and the mantlins vine, 
A holy church with endless Sabbath blest. 
Fair type and pledge of future heavenly rest. 

In all the poetry Mr. Brooks has given to the world, there are the 
evidences of true genius ; but all that he has hitherto written must be 
regarded rather as promises than performances — single draughts from 
a clear well, whose depths have not yet been fathomed. 

The muses of poetry and history are sisters. Indeed, one of the 
earliest and noblest forms of poetry, the epic, is essentially historic in 
its character. Goldsmith, Scott, and Macaulay, are examples that 
poetry and history are kindred fields of labor. We need not be sur- 
prised, therefore, to see Mr. Brooks, after paying his addresses to 
Melpomene, transfer his attentions to her sister, Clio. The events of 
the late Mexican war made a deep impression on his mind, for they 
appealed not only to his patriotism, but to his imagination and his 
literary tastes. There was much in the origin, progress, and details 
of that war, that recalled vividly to his remembrance the pages of 
antiquity over w^hich his youthful fancy had revelled, and which were 
" familiar in his mouth as household words." Here, in our own day, 
almost within our own borders, were being enacted the very counter- 
parts of those gallant deeds, which long ago Homer celebrated in 
verse, and Thucydides and Herodotus in prose. Rival republics quar- 
rel about a former ally and a disputed territory. Armies are sent to 

* Prayers in India are written and burnt as incense before their idols. 
t The Indicus Ficus, or Banyan, called god-trees by the natives, are used a* 
temples. 



412 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

the frontier — to watch one another — nothing more. Accidentally, 
almost, they come into collision. The flint is struck, the spark falls, 
the fire spreads. There are marches, and counter-marches, sieges, 
skirmishes, and battles, jealousies in camp, intrigues at home, troops 
are withdrawn, generals recalled ; — there are more marches, more 
sieges, more battles, then come negotiations, and peace at last. It is 
the old story of the old books over again ; — the fearfully intense excite- 
ment of the present being substituted for the dreamy interest of the 
past. The whole style and manner of the warfare were more after 
the primitive fashion of the ancients than the elaborate science of the 
moderns. More depended on individual valor, and less upon combined 
action. There was greater room for the display of personal courage 
in the private soldier ; and less for rapid combination and grand evolu- 
tions on the part of the commander. This was, indeed, the secret of 
our success ; every man was a hero, and acted a hero's part. Does 
not the following description remind the reader strongly of what he 
used to read in his young days about the valiant deeds that were done 
" under the lofty walls of Troy," or by the yellow stream of Xanthus ? 
" While Colonel Macintosh was forcing his way through a dense 
thicket of chapparal, lined with infantry and cavalry, his horse was 
struck with a shot, and fell dead, and the colonel was precipitated 
through the chapparal into the midst of the enemy. Mounting to his 
feet, he encountered them sword in hand, and warded off" for the 
instant both bayonets and lance-points ; but he was soon overpowered 
by numbers, and disabled by wounds. A bayonet entered his mouth, 
and came out at his ear ; a second aimed at his heart, pierced through 
h's arm, and terribly shattered the bone ; while by a third, which 
passed through his hip, he was borne down and pinned to the earth." 
— Brooks's History of the Mexican War, p. 145. 

With a soul full of his subject, Mr. Brooks approached his work, 
and the result has been the most authentic, the most interesting, and the 
most impartial history of the Mexican War that has yet appeared. 
Standing himself in the background, never obtruding his own senti- 
ments unnecessarily on the reader, he brings forward his subject 
clearly and prominently ; gives a luminous description of the condition 
of Mexico after the acknowledgment of her independence ; takes a 
rapid but most interesting survey of the principal events in the revolt 
of Texas ; details clearly and concisely the misunderstandings in 
which the war originated, and the circumstances by which it was pre- 
cipitated ; through every stage of the war, from the bombardment of 
Fort Brown till the surrender of the capital, the capture of Tobasco, 
and the opening of the negotiations for peace, we follow the wand of 
the enchanter with an interest that never flags, and an attention that 
never wearies. Such is the skill of his arrangement, the wisdom of 
his reflections, and the truthfulness of his descriptions, that we seem 
to be thinking and seeing for ourselves, rather than reading the sights 
and thoughts of another. 

It is not merely as a poet and as a historian that the subject of the 
present memoir commends himself to our regard. He has another, 
and, in our opinion, even a higher claim upon our notice, in his char- 
acter as a teacher. It is as a leader in the great army of education 



NATHAN COVINGTON BROOKS, OF MAKYLAND. 4To 

that we are most anxious to present him before our readers. Of all 
the battles of which our earth has been the theatre, that between light 
and darkness, truth and error, ignorance and knowledge, has been the 
longest and the fiercest ; and in its consequences the most important. 
To k7inw or not to know — that is the grand question of our day. The 
fate of kingdoms and republics lies in the hand of the schoolmaster 
more than of king or congress. Ignorance, superstition, slavery, on 
the one side ; knowledge, religion, liberty, on the other ; such are the 
hosts now drawn up in array on the battle-field of the world. Who 
would not be a leader or a standard-bearer in such an enterprise ? 
Where can we find a nobler employment ? where a heavier respon- 
sibility ? Our independence, acquired by superior valor, must be pre- 
served by superior enlightenment ; and the universality of our freedom 
will depend upon the universality of our education. The enemy 
knows well, (and he has already shown that he knovi^s it,) that the 
fatal blow against American liberty must be struck at American 
schools. 

Mr. Brooks commenced his career as a teacher at the early age of 
eighteen ; and has persevered in it without interruption till the present 
time, during which he has conducted several institutions of high stand- 
ing. In the year 1839, on the establishment of the Baltimore High School, 
he was unanimously elected principal, over forty-five applicants ; a 
post for which his long experience and his wonderfully varied attain- 
ments peculiarly fitted him. The public school system had been in 
operation lor about nine years ; and yet not more than six hundred pu- 
pils were to be found in all the schools. During the nine years of 
Mr. Brooks's connection with the schools, the number of pupils in- 
creased from six hundred to more than as many thousands, and this 
mcrease was attributed by the commissioners and the public mainly 
to the establishment of the High School, and the energetic man- 
ner in which it was conducted. Placed thus at the head of 
the public education of the city of Baltimore, Mr. Brooks spared 
no labor, however great, and omitted no duty, however trifling, that 
could in any way contribute to the success of the cause with 
which he was identified. From his desk at the High School, he made 
himself felt throughout every school in the city, and infused his own 
ardent zeal into all with whom he came in contact. New life and 
energy were infused into the system ; the indolent were roused into 
activity ; the active redoubled their exertions ; and the extraordi- 
nary success we have just noticed was the result of their combined 
efforts. 

One of the greatest difficulties which Mr. Brooks experienced was 
the want of suitable text-books, especially in the classical department. 
With characteristic energy, he at once set to work to supply this de- 
ficiency. He projected and partly carried into execution a series of 
classical school-books, on a new system. His elementary Greek and 
Latin Lessons are spoken of by teachers in terms of the highest com- 
mendation. In place of the usual routine of committing to memory 
pages upon pages of unknown words, the pupil, on Mr. Brooks's system, 
enters upon the dead as if they were living languages, translates and 
re-translates from the very commencement of his course, and instead 



414 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

of merely burdening the memory, gives exercise to the judgment and 
scope to the imagination. It has often been objected to the study of 
classical literature, that it is of no practical use in the business of life. 
Even if we were to yield an unthinking" assent to this proposition (i»s so 
many do), we would not therefore admit the conclusion, that the 
classics are not worth being studied. How much of the knowledge ob- 
tained at school (always excepting the three fundamental studies) is of 
any more practical use than Greek and Latin ! Of what use is geo- 
metry, except to one in a thousand ? Of what use is algebra, except to 
one in ten thousand ? Does a tailor cut a coat any better for knowing 
that the three angles of a triangle are equal to two right angles ? Of 
what practical use to any of us is the intormation that Madrid is the 
capital of Spain, or that the Duke of Wellington gained the battle of 
Waterloo ] And yet learning of this sort is not repudiated for want of 
practical usefulness. But the knowledge that is most useful to us is 
not that which lies a dead weight upon the mind, imtil the occasion 
comes (if it ever comes) when it is wanted ; but that which acts like 
leaven, pervading every faculty, and setting every power to work. 
There is more of this suggestive influence, this operative power, in one 
stanza of Horace, or one sentence of Demosthenes, than in a hundred 
propositions of Euclid, and countless mineralogical specimens. The 
truth is, that this charge of want of usefulness has been caused mainly 
by the unpractical and unintellectual manner in which the classics have 
long been taught. There has been only too much reason for the com- 
plaint which Carlyle makes in his " Sartor Resartus" : — " My teachers 
were hide-bound pedants, Avithout know'ledge of man's nature or of 
boys' ; or of aught save their lexicons and quarterly account books. 
Innumerable dead vocables (no dead language, for they themselves 
knew no language,) they crammed into us, and called it fostering the 
growth of mind. How can an inanimate mechanical gerund-grinder, 
(the like of whom will, in a subsequent century, be manufactured at 
Nuremberg out of wood and leather,) foster the growth of any thing, much 
more of mind, which grows not like a vegetable, (by having its roots 
littered with etymological compost,) but like a spirit, by mysterious con- 
tact of spirit ; thought kindling itself at the living fire of thought ? The 
Hinterschlag professors knew of syntax enough ; and of the human soul 
thus much — that it had a faculty called memory, and could be acted on 
through the muscular integument by application of birch-rods." 

Reducing Memory to her proper subordinate rank, and omitting the 
birch-rods altooether, Mr. Brooks breaks through the old humdrum 
system of " cramming with dead vocables," and applies to the classics 
the mode introduced by Manesca, and so successfully practised by 
OUendorf, in the modern languages, of making a practical use, Irom 
the very outset, of every word and every principle learned. And this 
practical system, thus begun, he carries on to the very end of his 
course, making a knowledge of the classics not the end, but the means 
— -the means of quickening the perceptions, of strengthening the judg- 
ment, of enlivening the imagination, of cultivating the taste, of warm- 
ing the heart — the means of instilling a thousand useful lessons in 
history and theology-, in rhetoric and poetry, in ethics and physics — 
the means, above all, of directing the student to human nature, as (next 



415 

to God) the great object of study, the perennial fountain from which 
all great writers and all great men have drunk deeply — the great hill 
of knowledge, whose sides poets and philosophers, in all ages, are 
employed in climbing — whose base is in the waters of eternity — 
whose summit is enveloped by the clouds of heaven. 

Mr. Brooks's edition of Ovid is one of the many good school-books 
that our country can boast. In preparing this work, Mr. Brooks 
brought to the task what we seldom find combined, the i'ruit of many 
years' extensive reading, and of as many of patient teaching. The 
marks of diligent study, of varied learning, and of a refined taste, 
are visible in every page of it. It bears the impress alike of the ac- 
curate scholar and the experienced teacher. To a text scrupulously 
cleansed from all that could offend the most delicate fastidiousness, 
and embellished with pictorial illustrations of considerable merit, he 
has added a body of explanatory notes, which, for fulness, variety, 
and appropriateness, will compare with any similar w ork that has of 
late years issued from the press, and gain by the comparison. Writers 
of every age, on every subject, and in almost every language, have 
been laid under contribution. Parallel passages and explanatory quo- 
tations, from the writings of the poets, philosophers, and statesmen, 
men of science and general literature — from Aristotle, Byron, Cicero, 
Shakspeare, Virgil, Moore, Hesiod, Tennyson, ^schylus, Bacon, 
Sanchoniathus — form the brilliant setting through which shine the 
polished gems of Ovid. But his great storehouse of illustration is the 
Holy Scriptures ; and it is worthy of remark how, in all his teachings, 
he constantly recurs to the Sacred Book as the great source of know- 
ledge and the great touchstone of truth. The whole field of classical 
literature, valuable as he believes it to be in itself, derives its principal 
value from its reflex action on the mind, in connection with the word 
of God. In an address delivered before the Philomathean Society of 
Pennsylvania College, and published by the society, Mr. Brooks thus 
eloquently expresses himself: — 

" With a generous enthusiasm, you have devoted your days and your 
nights, gentlemen, to liberal studies ; Avithin the precincts of yonder 
temple, sacred to wisdom, you have seen in reality the fabulous Pan- 
chaia of the happv islands, and, in their works, have contemplated the 
monuments of those consecrated to immortality, reared by their own 
sublime genius. You have delighted to sweep the dust of ages from 
the papyrus, and peruse its venerable records ; the relics of ancient 
literature, sanctified by the touch of time, have enkindled a lively ad- 
miration of the beauties of Greece, and the colossal grandeur of Rome ; 
you have investigated their polity, their laws, their religion, and from 
the whole have deduced principles 

' To warm the genius and to mend the heart.' 

You have revelled in the riches of classic lore, and you have done 
well. But there is another classic which I feel bound to commend 
to you, equally ancient in origin and interesting in narrative ; equally 
chaste in style, and more sublime in its records, its philosophy, and 
its precepts — the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. 

" In this volume you have a pleasant picture of the simplicity of the 



4'i(j SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

early ages, in all the flowing vivacity of Herodotus, without his fables 
— you have the exhibition of man in his political connections and com- 
motions — the spread of empire and the desolations of war — the 
achievements of men and the miracles of God — described with all 
the force and atticism of Thucydides, and the graces of Xenophon ; 
you have a morality exactly suited to the nature and destiny of man, 
more elevated than ever came from the portico or academy — a system 
of laws and religion that far transcends the dreams of ancient sages — 
promulgated by him to whom power, and dominion, and adoration be- 
long — every variety of composition, characterized by all the sublimi- 
ties and beauties of style, of passion, of sentiment, and of action — 
the visions of the seer, the denunciations of the prophet, the teachings 
of the sage, the inspirations of the psalmist, the records of the evan- 
gelist, and the triumphs of the martyr — tending to inform the mind, 
move the sensibilities, refine the taste, and, above all, purify the heart, 
fit it for the discharge of the duties of life, and for the destinies of 
another and a better world. This classic, above all others, I would 
commend to you. 

" What are the thousand deities of Greece and Rome, compared 
with the one living and true God which it reveals ? Will the sacred 
pile of the Acropolis vie with that which surmounted the summit of 
Moriah ; or the golden Diana of Ephesus, or the marble statue of the 
Parthenon, with the visible glory of the invisible God ? Does the tri- 
pod of Apollo equal the Urim and Thummim ? Do the flamens 
divine, like the prophets of Jehovah ? Do the elements obey the wand 
of the augurs, as they do the staff" of Moses ? Is the expedition of 
the Argonauts more full of stirring incidents than the Exodus ? The 
fall of Troy more mournful than the desolation of Salem ? Or the 
wanderings of iEneas, or the king of Ithaca, more pathetic than the 
scattering of the sons of Jacob to the ends of the earth ? 

" You will be told by some that the Greek of the Old and New 
Testament is barbarous. Believe it not. That it abounds in imper- 
fections and errors of style. It is not the fact. Its peculiarities, even 
those that are condemned by the captious, its transitions, changes and 
irregularities will be found, by the true scholar, to be parallel with 
those of the most refined Grecian authors. You who have drunk of 
the waters of Helicon will not find those of ' Siloa's brook, that flows 
fast by the Oracle of God,' less invigorating ; nor the dews of Hermon 
less sweet than those of the Aonian Aganippe. You who have listened 
to the ravings of the Sybil and the wild frenzy of the Pythoness, will 
rejoice to hear the seers of old, as they wildly swept the harp to the 
oracles of God. If commiseration of the unhappy exile has been 
awakened in your breast by the plaint of Meliboeus, 

' Nos patriffi fines, et dulcia linquimus arva 
Nos patriam fugimus,' 

your feelings will be more excited at the lament of the daughters of 
Zion, as they sit in sorrow by the waters of Babylon ; or at the capti- 
vity of the young king of Israel — ' Weep not for the dead, but for hirn 
that goeth away from his country, for he shall return no more.' If you 
"have been pleased with the Doric reed of Theocritus and the mellow 



NATHAN COVINGTON BROOKS, OF MARYLAND. 4tt 

flute of Virgil, you cannot fail to enjoy the fervent yet delicate pastoral 
of Solomon. If you have admired the Epigrams of Martial, the 
Golden Sentences of Pythagoras, you will relish still more the pre- 
cepts of Ecclesiastes and the Proverhs. If the elegiac strains of Ti- 
bullus and Ovid have excited tender sentiments of sorrow, your heart 
will be melted at the sorrows of the Saviour over Salem, the Lamen- 
tations of Jeremiah, and the threnetic plaint of Hosea. 

" If you have admired the social feelings of Scipio and Laelius, you 
will find a parallel in the fraternal affection of David and Jonathan ; 
and will see friendship and grief sanctified by the Saviour, as he weeps 
at the grave of Lazarus. If you have been moved at the lament of 
Agamemnon over his wounded brother, the sympathies of the inmost 
soul will be stirred at the passionate grief of David for the slain upon 
the mountains of Gilboa. Acquainted with the beauties of the wan- 
derings of the king of Ithaca, you will relish the more the sublimities 
of the wanderings of the Israelites. Moved at the manner of the 
discovery of Ulysses, the Avaters of the soul will be stirred, when 
Joseph makes himself known to his brethren. Struck with pathetic 
interest at the sacrifice of Iphigenia, your emotions will be stronger 
as you stand with Abraham and Isaac, upon the moimt of Moriah. 
Familiar with the histories of Clelia and Penthesilea, you will appre- 
ciate the daring of Jael, and the valor of Judith, as she unsheaths the 
sword of slaughter in the tent of Holofernes. Beholding the gran- 
deur of the eagle, as he bears the bolt of destruction to the throne of 
Jove, you will contemplate the purity of the dove, carrying to the ark 
the bough of mercy ; or, on the shores of Jordan, bringing down the 
spirit of the Deity to sustain the soul of man amid the sorrows of a 
ruined world. Pleased with the maternal solicitude of Cornelia, in 
rearing the Gracchi to be ' jewels' of pride, you will applaud the 
nobler ambition of the mother of Samuel, in seeking to make him a 
jewel worthy of the signet of the Lord. Impressed with sentiments of 
moral elevation at the devotion of Codrus and Marcus Curtius, for the 
good of their country, you will be filled with wonder and love at the 
condescension of the incarnate God, as he gives himself up a sacri- 
fice for sin, upon the summit of Calvary, amid the tremblings of the 
earth and the astonishment of heaven ; and, touched with the serenity 
and meekness of the dying Socrates, as he cheers his sorrowing 
friends, you will be dissolved in grief, and love, and admiration, as the 
expiring Saviour consoles the weeping daughters of Jerusalem and 
prays for his enemies. 

" Admirers of the beautiful allegories of the Greeks, you will have 
a double relish for those of Ecclesiastes and other Hebrew writers. 
Familiar with the sublime beauties of the tragic muse in ^schylus, 
Sophocles and Euripides, you will find in the Book of Job a drama, 
the oldest in the world, and although irregular, equal in elevation to any 
that has ever been produced ; and, fired with enthusiasm by the com- 
positions of Pindar and Horace, you will be able to give its proper 
estimation to the ode of Deborah, and that grand lyric of Isaiah, rela- 
tive to the king of Babylon, from which Lord Byron drew the sublime 
images of his Ode to Napoleon. Impressed with the beauty of the 
hymns of Callimachus, Orpheus, and Cleanthes, your heart will go out 



4'78 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

to God in devotional fervor, in reading the song of Moses and Miriam, 
and the psahns of the Shepherd King. Versant with the Natural 
History of Pliny and Aristotle, and appreciating their beauties of lan- 
guage, you w'Hl admire the striking descriptions to be met with in the 

Book of Job. 

******** 

" Such arc a few of the beauties of the Bible ; and, if its grand truths 
be found to rob poetry and mythology of some of their ethereal fancies, 
it substitutes nobler truths, and sentiments equally chaste. If it has 
displaced cloud-compelling Jove from Olympus, it has placed the hea- 
vens under the care of him who ' weigheth them in his balance,' and 
' directeth his thunder under the whole heavens, and his lightning to 
the ends of the earth.' If vVurora no longer opens the door of the 
east, her office is performed by him ' who causeth th'j day-spring to 
know his place.' If the chariot of the sun be no- longer under the 
care of Apollo, it is guided by him ' v ho hath set a tabernacle for the 
sun.' If Diana has forgotten to lead her circlet in the heavens, it re- 
volves at the bidding of him ' who hath appointed the moon her 
seasons.' If the sceptre of ^Eolus is broken, the winds are under 
the direction of him ' who guides the whirlwind and propels the 
storm,' — ' who maketh the clouds his chariot, and walketh upon the 
wings of the wind.' If the trident of Neptune no longer sways the 
sea, its billows heave beneath the eye of him who hath said to the 
deep, ' Thus far shalt thou come, but no further ; and here shall thy 
proud waves be stayed.' If Ceres has deserted the fields, they are 
under the care of him who has promised that ' seed-time and harvest 
shall succeed each other,' to the end of time. If the vintage has 
ceased to ripen for Bacchus, it abounds for him, who ' causeth wine, to 
make glad the heart of man.' If Nemesis no longer bears the bal- 
ances of the earth, they are transferred to him, ' the habitation of 
whose throne is justice and judgment.' If the Dryads have forsaken 
the groves, and the Naiads the streams, the voice of Deity is speaking 
to the heart in the whisper of every tree, and the murmur of every 
fountain. If the Muses that presided over the spheres have aban- 
doned the object of their tutelar regard, they are still propelled by the 
hand that rounded them, and peal out the hymn in which they united 
when the 'morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted 
for joy.' If Iris has ceased to be the messenger of the wrath of 
Juno, it has become the covenant of the mercy of Jehovah. If Pluto 
has resigned the guardianship of Hades, it is to him who ' holds the 
keys of hell and death ;' and if the Lares and Penates have aban- 
doned the threshold and hearthstone, their place is supplied by him 
who hath promised to make the habitation of the righteous his abode, 
and to dwell in the heart of the humble. If all the deities have van- 
ished before the light of truth and revelation, The Lord God Omni- 
potent reigneth." 

In the year 1848, Mr. Brooks was requested to assume the organ- 
ization of the Baltimore Female College. His high reputation as a 
scholar ; his distinguished success as a teacher , his great experience 
in the management of educational establishments ; his numerous con- 
nections and friends ; his winning address and conciliatory manners, 



!5 



NATHAN COVIMGTOX BROOKS, OF MARYLAND. 479 

qualified him in an eminent degree for establishing and sustaining the 
contemplated college. It was with much pain that he sundered the 
ties that for nine years had bound him to the High School, and the 
public school system of Baltimore, with whose success he had become 
identified, and in which his whole heart had been wrapped up ; but the 
urgent advice of his friends and the prospect of still more extended 
usefulness decided his course. It is hardly possible, indeed, to over- 
estimate the importance of female education. If men are the masters, 
women are the rulers of the world, and their noiseless influence is all 
the more deeply felt that its source is often studiously concealed. Wo- 
man is the barometer of the social atmosphere. If you want to make 
inquisition into a man's character, learn how he treats his wife and his 
sister. If you want to know the social condition of a nation, inquire into 
the position of the Avomen. Raise woman in the social scale, and you 
draw man up along with her — degrade her, and he sinks even lower. In 
any community, if the women are loose in their morals, the men are profli- 
gate : if the women are virtuous and refined, the men are moral and 
intelligent. A Avell-educated mother cannot bring up her sons in igno- 
rance ; a polite and refined sister is rarely associated with rough, un- 
cultivated brothers. 

With a sense of the vast importance and heavy responsibility of the task, 
Mr. Brooks accepted the proposal. That which was in 1848 a doubtful 
project, is now a successful enterprise — an established fact. The college 
now numbers upwards of one hundred and fifty students, of whom nearly 
fifty reside in the institution — almost every State sending its represen- 
tatives. It is chartered by the legislature, possesses (and exercises) 
authority to confer degrees, and resembles, in its course of instruction 
and general arrangements, colleges for the other sex. The writer had 
the pleasure of attending the examination previous to the end of the 
last session, and can scarcely describe the gratification he experien- 
ced at hearing fair lips warble out the melodious stanzas of Horace, or 
his surprise at hearing them pronounce without faltering, and translate 
without hesitation, the majestic lines of old Homer. Rarely has it been 
his pleasure to witness equal proficiency among those of his own sex 
under similar circumstances. 

To see Mr. Brooks in his element, you must see him in the midst 
of his class. There the studious brow unfolds its furrows, the thought- 
ful eye sparkles, the compressed lips expand. Every eye is upon 
him — every ear opens. The didl yields to his patience, the quick re- 
sponds to his vivacity, the wayward bends beneath his firmness, and 
the proud submits to his affection. He has words of approbation for 
the deserving, of encouragement for the persevering, of incitement for 
the indolent, of warning for the froward. There is no Procrustean bed. 
on which the girl of genius is shortened, and the one of moderate abili- 
ties stretched out to the standard length. Each is permitted to ex- 
pand as nature has given the ability. Like a fond parent, he weighs 
the disposition and measures the capacity of each ; and distributes to 
each as she may be able to receive. 

Has the reader ever considered the difficulty of a teacher's task, and 
the immense service which he renders to the community? Or does 
he look upon the teacher as an engine-driver, and a school or college 



480 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

as a sort of literary mill, where students are ground to order, and with 
which the teacher has nothing to do but get the steam up, and turn it 
on or off as the case may require ? Education in its highest and no- 
blest sense will never be disseminated, till the public knows more 
about what a teacher ought to be ; " till the hodman is discharged or 
reduced to hod-bearing, and an architect is hired and on all hands 
fitly encouraged ; till communities and individuals discover, not with- 
out surprise, that fashioning the souls of a generation by knowledge 
can rank on a level with blowing their bodies to pieces with gunpow- 
der ; that with generals and field-marshals for killing, there should be 
world-honored dignitaries, and were it possible, true God-ordained 
priests for teaching." 

Mr. Brooks is another example of the utility of early marriages. In 
his twentieth year he was married to Miss Mary E. Gobright, a young 
lady of Baltimore, whose great personal beauty and moral excellence had 
captivated his affections. Eight children, all living, are the fruits of 
this union, founded upon reciprocal respect and affection. In such 
circumstances, the marriage relation has a natural tendency to promote 
the growth of the mind, and the development of the better feelings of 
the heart, before it is chilled by contact with the world. The gene- 
rous thought that he is laboring for others is to the young husband and 
father a great incentive to action, not only in the daily struggles of life 
for bread, but in the nobler contest for the meed of fame ; and by sac- 
rificing all selfish feelings upon the altar of afl'ection at home, he is 
prepared to become the generous friend, the public-spirited citizen, 
the general philanthropist. Such has been the effect of his early 
marriage upon the subject of our memoir. 

Provision for the support of a numerous family has not prevented Mr. 
Brooks from indulging his literary tastes, but has stimulated him to 
greater eflbrt. He has been " in labors abundant." Besides discharg- 
ing the duties of his profession, he has produced almost as many 
volumes as any of our writers whose time has been devoted to litera- 
ture alone. Happy in the affections of a devoted wife, and a family 
of interesting children, loved and respected by his pupils, his heart is 
the seat of all that is amiable and tender, and difluses abroad the light 
and the heat that dwell within. Long may he live to be the centre oi 
the social circle, the pride of his friends, and an honor to the profes- 
sion of which he has been so useful a member. 




ietl«i^' 




^^^ 




Ej-'^prii'^^ 7',rr Jj>i/'.7',ii>hual 3ketrhfS of Snmz^/tt ^rfrjrricafis 



REV. CHARLES BROOKS, 

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. 

Some men are foiintains, some only reservoirs. Tliemistocles said, " I 
cannot fiddle nor philosophize ; but I know how to make a great city out 
of a small one." To sugy-est new forces and demonstrate improvements, 
and vet not live to see atl the results, is a common lot with the benefactors 
of mankind. Who can calcidate the oibit of a word ? Never can society 
know the amount of good which has flowed from the practical suggestions 
of a fertile and truthful mind. 

Out of original documents, most of which are printed, we have selected 
the facts of this biography ; and from these facts we have drawn our own 
conclusions. 

The Reverend Charles Brooks, descended from two of the oldest fami- 
lies in New England, was born in Medford, Massachusetts, October 30th, 
1195. Receiving ft'om birth what is better than wealth, he was taught by 
an active father that he must get his own living, and by a pious mother that 
there could be no success but by virtue. Obliged to work, he came to 
love it ; and work has done as nuicli for him as he for it. He deems it 
the most culpable death to have life and not to use it. He has always 
pitied those who were not obliged to labor with head or hand ; because 
they never come to that true manly strength, which is got only by strug- 
gling. Young Brooks roughed it through the public school, taking his 
share of the "bruises and prizes ; and in the academy took the highest 
medal for excellence in Mathematics. Seldom has a boy fewer external 
helps. While others crossed the brook on stilts, he always had to wade 
it. Very poorly fitted for college, he entered Harvard University in 1812, 
with seventy-sfx others, and found himself at the bottom of his class. 
Dreary prospect for a college life I He had now the sorrowful task of 
measuring himself by himself; and his only aim was, to conquer his own 
condition. His great rival, therefore, was himself. Under such a rough 
enterprise, he felt that all " college honors " were out of the question. 
But, he had read in Virgil, " They can conquer who beheve they can ; " 
and he was resolved not to be confounded with those who can do nothing. 
His common saying has been, "Idleness is the Dead sea of the soul." He 
passed through the four }^ars of college without a single reprimand, and 
received fromthe Government four publieparts" — one in his junior year, 
one in his senior year, a Latin Poem when he graduated in 1816, and the 
Latin Valedictory Oration when he took his second degree in 1819. He 
was made an officer of college soon after his graduation, and ever received 
the particular patronage of President Kiikland, whose head was a foun- 
tain of genius and wisdom, whose heart was a reservoir of piety and bene- 
volence. 

The choice of a profession was no embarrassing problem to Mr. Brooks. 
His sentiments and taste led him to the Episcopal Church, and he oflB- 
ciated as reader in it for some time. One Sunday morning, as he was 
reading in public the commencement of the Litany, the query flashed 
across his mind, — Is this scriptural? On the next day he gave notice to 

31 



482 



SKETCHES or EMINENT AMERICANS. 



the wardens that he should read no more at present. They were greatly 
surprised. He assured them that his reasons were wholly personal to 
himself, and therefore refused to disclose them. He still kept silent ; but 
he betook himself for one year to his Greek Testament and Lexicon, and 
the unexpected result was, that he embraced the Unitarian form of Chris- 
tianity, and has since belong-ed to the most orthodox wing of that body. 
Believing that this earth is our school-house, Christ our Teacher, and the 
Bible our class-book ; and that the true church begins with the highest 
archangel and embraces all God's moral creatures, through all worlds and 
all ages, Avho love him with all their soul and love their neighbor as them- 
selves — believing this, he has the most abounding charity for all Christian 
sects; and very slight attachment to that armed theology which bristles 
all over with the thorns of logic. He thinks that mere intellectual duels 
are generally fatal to both combatants. 

He was a candidate for settlement only in one place, though invited to 
be a candidate in several. He avowed, from the first, that a candidate 
who permitted a parish to give him 'a call, when he had previously decided 
not to accept it, placed himself lower than the female flirt who encourages 
a suitor to oft'er his hand when she has already determined to reject it. 
The Third Congregational Society in Hingham, Massachusetts, gave him 
an unanimous invitation to become their minister, on a salary of ^1000 ; 
and he was ordained over that intelligent and united people January iVth, 
1821. The spring following he organized a Sabbath School, and alone' 
conducted all the instruction. The next year he divided the school into 
classes, and gave a teacher to each six pupils; and then he commenced 
a course of explanatory lectures to the school, which continued through 
seventeen years with singidar success. His maxim was, " Take good care 
of the young trees if you want the best orchards." About the same time 
he started a Parish Reading Society, which embraced all who wished to 
attend, and which met from house to house each Monday evening. Alli- 
son on Taste, Stewart and Brown's Philosophy, the Edinburgh Review, 
and such books, were read, and the topics discussed. These discussions 
often furnished him with themes for the next Sunday's sermon. The 
society was kept" active while Mr. Brooks was the minister. A library 
was connected with it, and he purchased the books ; and his plan was, not 
to expend this public money in buying any book which it was likely that 
any private family would purchase. This rule enabled him to fill the 
shelves with standard authors. 

During the first year of his ministry he wrote a Family Prayer Book, 
intended for his people. Within a short time it came to a second edition; 
and so rapid was its sale that, in 1833, he re-wrote the whole, added one 
hundred and fifty pages, and published the first stereotyped edition. Some 
of the editions were four thousand copies ; and this year (1853) the seven- 
teenth edition has been published. It has 368 pages. Who but the 
Omniscient can tell how much good these volumes have done ? The day 
of judgment may declare it. 

The Peace Cause had been started by the Apostolic Worcester. Mr. 
Brooks was strongly drawn towards it ; and, after several special visits 
to the Great Pacificator, he became enamored of a man who seemed to 
be like Abraham in faith, like Paul in labors, and like John in love. A 
county Peace Society was proposed by Mr. Brooks, and through his un- 



REV. CHARLES BROOKS, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 483 

tiring eflforts it was established ; he acting as its Secretary. Of the 
Peace Society in Hingham he was the President, and he there some- 
times found himself between an acid and an alkali. Twice he was 
able to pour the oil of Christian peace on the rising waves of human 
passion. At a union celebration of the 4th July, by parties heretofore 
separated, he gave this toast : 

" Party Spirit. — Hush ! my dear ! lie still and slumber ! " 

He ever held himself ready to meet conventions, deliver addresses, and 
circulate books, and hundreds of miles did he ride for this purpose. 
His first address was in 1821, and is printed. In a letter of Dr. Wor- 
cester to him in 1853, there are these words — " When T am gone I shall 
look to Mr. William Ladd, the Rev. Samuel J. May, and yourself, to 
carry on this great Christian work." He has been a constant con- 
tributor to the peace publications of the day, and to the funds of the 
American Peace Society. In 1835, he published his view^s of war and 
the means of preventing it. His statement was this — "Two men quar- 
rel — does society allow them to settle it by battle ? No. A reference, 
a Justice's Court may settle it. If those fail, does society then allow 
them to settle it by personal conflict ? No. The Court of Common 
Pleas is called upon to settle it. If this fails, are the parties allowed to 
appeal from the decision of the Court to brute force ? No. The 
Supreme Judicial Court is called in, and their decision is final. This 
process seems that of justice, common sense, and humanity. If the par- 
ties, after this decision, should resort to angry battle or homicidal force, 
all men would cry out against them as enemies of public order, personal 
safety, and social happiness. Thus society, by instituting courts of law, 
prevents bloodshed and barbarism. If Hingham and Cohosset have a 
difference, does the commonwealth permit them to order out their in- 
fantry and attack each other ? No. The courts of law alone can adjust 
the claims. If Massachusetts has a quarrel with Connecticut, does the 
government of the United States allow each of them to raise an army 
and meet each other in deadly fight ? No. The Supreme Court of the 
United States is called upon to hear the whole story from both sides, 
and then to say where equity is. By this process all the facts will be 
elicited and weighed by wise and impartial judges, and thus the nearest 
approach to full justice will be obtained, which can be obtained on 
earth. Now take this same wise, just, and Christian principle, and apply 
it to disputes between different Christian nations. Let all the govern- 
ments of Christendom unite to frame a code of international law ; and 
thea let a high Court of Nations be instituted before whom any two na- 
tions may plead their cause, and to whose decision they shall submit. 
This would for ever prevent all resort to brute force and forbidden war. 
It is time that this certainty of justice was substituted for the uncertainty 
of battle. If €very ruler in Christendom understood the divine authority 
of Christ and felt his heavenly spirit, no one could object to the plan here 
proposed ; on one could refuse to substitute peaceful arbitration for 
heathenish slaughter. Bonaparte said, — ' War is hell.' It surely is a 
suspension of the laws of God." Mr. Brooks has occupied for many years 
the place of Chairman of the Executive Committee of the American 



484 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Peace So^::ety, and has twice been chosen by that society to repi'es^'iit 
them at the late " World's Peace Congresses " in Europe. 

In 1825, when at Washington, he was invited to deliver an address 
before the American Colonization Society. This led him to study 
that great movement ; and the consequence was, a hearty adoption of 
that Christian enterprise as the most feasible plan for Christianizing 
Africa, for destroying the slave trade, and for restoring the black man 
to his native skies and his inalienable rights. He has spared neither 
time nor money in advocating this cause ; and believing that Liberia 
will be the Plymouth of Africa, he lives to see the early enemies of colo- 
nization converted to friends, and even politicians looking at it with cal- 
culating eyes. He has been a member of the Society for a quai'ter of a 
century ; and as a Vice-President, works for it now with unabated zeal. 
In 1827, Mr. Brooks married Miss CeciHa Williams, daughter of Eoger 
Wolcott Williams, of Connecticut, a lady Avho proved to be a guide, phi- 
losopher, and friend. Her death, in 183Y, entirely prostrated him. She 
left a daughter and a son. 

In 1828, he was applied to, by a society of gentlemen in Boston, to pre- 
pare a book that might be used in families, in connexion with his Prayer 
Book. He undertook it, and within a year furnished a royal octavo 
volume, divided into 365 sections, and called it A Daihj Monitor. It was 
intended to meet the every day wants and hopes of life, to impart heat 
rather than light, and thus to make every parent a priest, and every family 
a church. 

The venerable John Adams, who always called him " Cousin," and to 
whom he used to read, offered him the use of all his library, and his best 
counsel. He received from this true patriot, and afterwards from his 
son John Quincy, many fruitful suggestions. 

In 1824, when the Hon. John Quincy Adams was candidate for the 
Presidency, the people of his native town celebrated the 4th of July with 
great pomp. The venerable John Adams was present, and dined with- the 
vast assembly. Mr. Brooks happened to be seated on the right hand of 
the old patriot ; and when called upon to give a toast, gave the following : 
" The town of Quincy. It has been said that the world cannot bear two 
suns, nor Rome two Caesars ; but that does not prove that Quincy cannot 
bear two Presidents." The old gentleman seemed peculiarly pleased with 
the toast, and said to Mr. Brooks — " That toast will fly from the White 
Hills to Florida and the Pacific." 

The Old Colony, in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, started the great 
Temperance movement. Among its earliest leaders was Mr. Brooks. He 
was the first man to propose that the 4th of July should be used as a day 
for temperance celebrations ; and he delivered the first temperance oration 
on that day. Conventions were frequently assembled in the Old Colony. 
The numbers were few ; the friends fewer ; the opponents were multitu- 
dinous. The advocates of reform stood erect and determined, believing 
that difficulties make room as soon as resolution approaches. On one 
occasion, when a fierce debate threatened violence, one speaker told Mr. 
Brooks, that "if he was caught out after dark he would be tarred and 
feathered." He instantly replied — " Mr. Chairman ! I do not covet the 
dignity of danger ; but, know all men by these presents, that to-morrow 
evening, at 8 o'clock, I will walk one mile out of town on such a road, and 



REV. CHARLES BROOKS, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 485 

return by the same way." He did so ; and returned, looking no more like 
a bird than when he went out. Some one asked him, " How dare you to 
expose yourself thus ?" " Because," said he, " 1 knew that a bad cause 
makes men cowards." 

In November, 1833, he sailed for Europe to restore his strength, which 
had become exhausted by over-work. Visiting England, Scotland, Ireland, 
France, Switzerland, and Italy, he spent ten months in lionizing, and pub- 
lished anonymously his " Leaves from a Journal," in two of our popular 
papers. He has often been asked to publish a book of travels, but he re- 
fuses, with this reply — " He who publishes his European tour and does not 
disgrace himself, is entitled to immortal honor." His impression of the 
politics of Europe, after two visits there, is, " that the wedge and screw 
system is the only safety of monarchs ; and that despotism has become 
negotiable. On this account, therefore, the people begin to say, that 
monarchy has had its time, that it has now lost its savor, and that hence- 
forth it will be good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot 
of men. The smallest thing in Europe may determine the next political 
transit. Liberty has marched into the open arena ; the kings cry 
' Crucify,' the people shout ' Hosanna.' " 

Mr. 13rooks was very fortunate in making the acquaintance of some dis- 
tinguished men and women in Europe ; such as Rogers, Campbell, Words- 
worth, Lord Jeffrey, Cousin, Arago, Schlegel, Tiedemann, Hannemanu, Mrs. 
Hemans, Miss Aiken, Mrs. Fry, Miss Martineau, and others of less note. 
While at Paris, in May, 1834, General Lafayette died. The Americans 
took such steps to show him honor as their deep gi-atitude suggested ; and 
Mr. Brooks was chosen by them to deliver a eulogy in Paris. He accepted; 
and was going to La Grange, by invitation, to write it, when he received 
from the King a request that such a meeting and such a service might not 
be had. As a king's request is a king's command, the Americans could 
only visit the grave of their country's benefactor, and weep there. 

Fired with enthusiasm for many features of the Prussian system of 
public instruction, Mr. B. commenced, in 1834, to speak and write about 
improvements in the common public schools of New England. By con- 
trast he saw their deficiencies, and resolved to begin a school revival, which 
should end in a thorough reformation. He did not at first apprehend the 
dangers of his enterprise ; for he soon found himself like the young Green- 
lander who launches his skiti' to encounter the great leviathan. He learned 
to make haste slowly. He knew not what others had done, and was full of 
fears and doubts about the best modes of procedure. He was aware that 
no skill in the builder can compensate for unsoundness in the material ; 
and therefore he was nervously anxious to gather school statistics. By 
correspondence with Mr. Cousin, the philosopher of Paris, by consultation 
with experienced educators, and by patient reflection upon the system of 
education in Holland, Prussia, and France, he came to this important con- 
clusion — " As IB THE TEACHER SO IS THE SCHOOL." This maxim he has 
made familiar to all our school literature. From this central truth he 
argued that it was clear, that the elevation of the teacher was the only way 
of elevating the schools. He therefore concentrated all his powers on the 
attempt to establish Normal Schools. This was the first vintage of his 
inquiry. Without wealth himself, he resolved to do all he could to 
magnetize the community, hoping that some susceptible and opulent men 



486 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS, 

might be touched with Ufe. In this lie was not finally disappointed. He 
began with the Old Colony, and for two years held conventions wherever 
he could, and also kept the subject before the people in the public prints. 
Darkness and discouragement were all around him. On every side he 
met cold shoulders, and at times his heart sank within him. But he 
thought it unwise to look back when the journey lieth forward. He 
trusted in God and took courage. The real lovers of the movement 
were warm and efBcient. One of these, a comparatively poor man, after 
the conclusion of a lecture, rose and said, that "he would give $1000 
towards the establishment of a Normal School in Plymouth County." 
It would be difficult to say how many circulars Mr. Brooks printed, or 
how many conventions he called ; but the estimate of his labors may 
be ascertained by extracting a few of the many resolutions which were 
passed by public assemblies. The following are a fair sample : 

" Resolved — That our public schools are very defective ; and that these 
defects have been discovered and described by the Rev. Charles Brooks, 
of Hingham ; and that we approve of most of his suggestions respecting 
the best remedies." 

At another meeting we find this : 

" Resolved — That the thanks of this convention be given to the Rev. 
Charles Brooks for his labors among us, during this week, in the 
patriotic cause of common schools ; and we would express the hope, that 
the school reform., which he has commenced in Old Plymouth, may not 
stop till it reaches the Rocky Mountains." 

At a large convention the three following resolutions were unanimously 
proposed. 

'■'•Resolved — That we are not ashamed to borrow good ideas from 
Prussia, and we endorse the maxim — as is the teacher so is the 
school.'''' 

" Resolved — That the establishment of Normal Schools through 
Massachusetts, is the first want of our time and the wisest policy of our 
government." 

"Resolved — That the Rev. Charles Brooks has commenced a new 
era in the subject of elementary education in New-England, and we 
tender him our hearty thanks, and hereby offer him our steady coopera- 
tion." 

To complete the view of this gentleman's connexion wkh the great 
republican cause of free schools, it will only be necessary to insert here 
a copy of one of his letters, written at the request of some friends in the 
Old Colony. It is as follows : 

The communications in our former numbers, respecting the Bridge- 
water Normal School, and the late annual address before the pupils, have 
induced a friend of Mr. Brooks to write him and ask about his first move- 
ments in the Old Colony. He reluctantly yielded to write an account; 
but, as it connects itself so closely with the cause of Education in 
our commonwealth, we think our readers may be glad to see it. — Old 
Colon?/ Memorial. 

Boston, September 2d, 1845. 
My Dear Sir, — You ask me to print my address, deUvered at Bridge- 
water, before the Normal School. I thank you for the compliment 



REV. CHARLES BROOKS, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 487 

implied in such a request, but, my friend, tlie time lias passed for .sufli 
a necessity. Our battle with ignorance and prejudice has been fought 
in the Old Colony, and the victory is ours ; and there had better not be 
any parade of the old soldiers quite yet. Some educational antiquary, 
in his pardonable weakness, may show my lectures fifty years hence, as 
they sometimes show old cannon. They are f;ist growing into tlie sere 
and ydlow leaf — so pray excuse me. 

You ask about the educational movements in the Old Colony 
with wliich I was connected. The story is very short, and to most 
persons must be very unintoiesting. 

While in Europe, in 1833, I became interested in the Prussian system 
of education. I sought every occasion to enlarge my knowledge of its 
nature and action. A good opportunity came to me without my seeking 
it. The King of Prussia had sent Dr. Julius, of Hamburg, to this 
country for the purpose of collecting information concerning our prisons, 
hospitals, schools, &c. I happened to meet the doctor in a literary 
party, in London, and he asked me to become his room-mate on board 
ship. I did so ; and for forty-one days was with him listening to his 
descriptions of German and Prussian systems of instruction. I was 
resolved to attempt the introduction of several parts of the system into 
the United States. I formed my plan and commenced operations by a 
public announcement, and an address at Hingham. I found some who 
understood and appreciated my views, and I worked on with a new 
convert's zeal. In 1835, I wrote and published ; but few r<ad and 
fewer still felt any interest. I was considered a dreamer, who wished to 
fill our republican commonwealth with monarchical institutions. Thei'C 
were some amusing caricatures of me published to ridicule my labors. 
These did me more good than harm. I worked on with precious few 
encouragements. I occupied Thanksgiving Day of 1835 in advocating 
in a public address, my plan for Normal Schools. I took my stand 
upon this Prussian maxim, " as is the tmchcr so is the school.''^ I thouglit 
the whole philosophy w^as summed up in that single phrase, and I thivk 
so still. I accordingly wrote all my lectures with reference to tiie 
establishment of Normal Schools. I now began to lecture before 
lyceums and conventions, and had many stormy debates, and a wonder- 
ful scarcity of compliments. The noise and dust of battle began at last 
to bring many to the comitia, until we got quite a respectable campus 
martius. I thought there was one place whei'C 1 could rely on intel- 
ligence and pati-iotism, and there I resolved to go. T accordingly 
published in the newspapers that a convention would be gathered at 
Plymouth, in court week, " to discuss the expediency of establishing a 
Normal School in the Old Colony." The friends of Common Schools 
assembled, and a private room held us all ! — but soon the truth spread, 
and my friends in Hingham and Plymouth came up generously to the 
work. We felt that the two ffreat ideas of the church and the school 
house, which our pilgrim fathers bi'ought to this shore, were to be carried 
out, and ever trusted in God tliey would. 

But this narrative is growing too long. In a few words, then, let me 
add, that I found conventions to be the best missionaries of the truth, 
and I gathered them in Plymouth, 1 )uxbury. New Bedford, Bridgewater, 
Kingston, Hanover, Hanson, &c. The Old Colony was ready to take the 



488 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

lead, and we began with petitions and memorials to the Legislature, all 
recommending the establishment of Normal Schools. How many 
hundred pages I wrote on this subject during 1834, '5, and '6, I dare not 
say. It was the subject of my thoughts and prayei'S. The wisdom of 
the Prussian scheme recommended itself to the reflecting, and, as I had 
i^tudied it, I was invited to lecture in each of the New England States. 
I went to Portsmouth, Concord, Nashua, and Keene, N. H. ; to Provi- 
dence and Newport, R. I. ; to Hartford, Conn. ; to New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania. I went through our own State, holding conven- 
tions at the large central towns. All this time I seemed to have little 
real success. I began to despair. I returned, after two years of excessive 
toil, to my professional duties, concluding that the time had not yet come 
for this great movement. One evening in .January, 1837, I was sitting 
reading to my family, when a letter was brought me from the friends of 
education in the Massachusetts Legislature, asking me to lecture on my 
hobby subject before that body. I was electrified with joy. The whole 
heavens to my eye seemed now filled with rainbows. January 18th 
came, and the hall of the House of Representatives was perfectly fuU. 
I gave an account of the Prussian system ; and they asked if I would 
lecture again. I consented, and the next evening endeavored to show 
how far the Prussian system could he safely adopted in the United States. 

Here my immediate connexion with the cause may be said to stop ; 
for Mr. Edmund Dwight, after this, took the matter into his hands, and 
did for it all a patriot could ask ; he gave $10,000 for the establishment 
of 'Normal Schools, on condition the State would give as much. This 
happily settled mattei's. A "Board of Education" was established, and 
they found the man exactly suited to the office of Secretary ; and, at 
Worcester, August 25th, 1837, I had the satisfaction of congratulating 
the American Institute in a public address on the realization of wishes 
which they had for years cherished. Mr. Mann entered upon his labors 
that day ; and the results are gladdening the whole country. May God 
still smile on this cause of causes, until schools shall cover the whole 
world with knowledge, and Christianity shall fill it with love. 

My friend : do not misinterpret my letter by supposing that I origin- 
ated these ideas. Oh, no. They were picked up by me in Europe. 
There had been an attempt at a teachers' seminary, at Lancaster ; and 
the American Institute, unknown to me, had discussed the subject before 
I was a member ; and the idea was not a new one. All I did was to 
bring it from Europe with me, and talk about it, and write about it, 
until the Old Colony adopted it. I hope the many early friends I had 
there will believe me when I saj'that, without their generous and steady 
cooperation I should have failed in my plans. The Normal Schools are 
of Prussian origin ; but let us not moui-n on that account. The beauti- 
ful fountain of Arethusa sank under the ground in Greece, and re-ap- 
peared in Sicily ; but I have never read that the Sicilians mourned for 
the appearance of that foreign blessing among them. 

Bespeaking your patient forbearance under this epistolary infliction, I 
am, as ever, yours truly, 

CHARLES BROOKS. 

At the annual meeting of the American Lyceum, held in the city of 



REV. CHARLES BROOKS, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 439 

New York in 1838, he proposed a national convention to meet in the 
Hall of Independence at Philadelphia, in the next November. This was 
ac^reed to, and he was chosen chairman of the Committee. He wrote 
the circulars, and sent them to each governor of a state, hoping to get 
members of Congress engaged in the project of a national society. This 
important meeting took place, and it resulted in the formation of a society 
which transferred itself to Washington. 

While residing in Boston he became a member of the Primary and 
of the Grammar School Committees, and there brought forward the sub- 
ject of a superintendent of the city schools ; and proposed a gentleman 
for the office. For three years he advocated this measure in private and 
public, and he lives to see it adopted. When he resigned his place as 
member of the Committee, the citizens of Ward 7 passed the following 
vote : 

" Resolved — That the thanks of the citizens of Ward 7 are due to 
the Rev. Chailes Brooks for the ability, energy, and fidelity, evinced by 
him during the long period he has served them in the School Committee ; 
and upon his retiring from the position he has so successfully filled we 
hereby express our hearty approval of the elevated views, liberal prin- 
ciples, and wise recognition of the progressive spirit of improvement in the 
educational system of our city which have marked his oflicial career." 

When the Convention for revising the Constitution of Massachusetts 
met in 1853, one of the Committee on Schools and Colleges requested his 
views on some points. He gave a draught which he had made seven years 
before. It was printed in several of the newspapers, and is as follows : — 

True Democracy in Education. — Mr. Editor : Having recommend- 
ed for several years, both in public and private, a new organization of 
our school and college system, which I have called " The True Demo- 
cratic Organization," I now send you, by request, a copy of an outline 
sketch made by me seven years since, hoping it may find some friends in 
the Constitutional Convention. It is as follows : 

All children by nature have equal rights to education. A republic, 
by the very principles of republicanism, is socially, politically, and 
morally bound to see that all the talent born within its territory, is deve- 
loped in its natural order, proper time, and due proportion, thus enabling 
everv mind to make the most of itself. The State stands in loco iMrentis 
to every child, and should fitly use all the means and capabilities sent by 
Heaven for its highest aggrandizement. 

The question then is. How can the State thus promote its own highest 
good? I answer, by the establishment of free schools and free colleges. 
Extend the New England idea of free schools, and the true democratic 
result is reached. It is this : The town says to every child born within 
its limits, " Go to the Primary School as soon as you are four years old ; 
there you will find rooms, books, and teachers; use them all gratis ; your 
parents need only to clothe and feed you." When these children have 
been taught three or four years in the Primary School, the town says to 
them, " (Jo uj> into the Grammar School, there you will find rooms, books, 
apparatus, and teachers ; use them all at my expense ; your parents need 
only feed and clothe you." When these children have been to the Gram- 
mar School three or four years, the town savs to them, " Go into the 
High School, or Latin School, or Scientific School, or the School of Arts 



490 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

and Trades ; there you will tind rcoms, books, apparatus, tools, and teachers ; 
use them all gratis ; your parents need only feed and clothe you." When 
these children have spent three or four years in these schools, the State 
says to them, " Go up to the College and enter the department which is 
fitted for you ; there you vvill find rooms, books, apparatus, tools, and 
teachers ; use them all gratis ; your parents need only feed and clothe 
you." AVhen these pupils have passed four years in the College, the 
State says to them, " Go into the University foi- Law or Medicine. There 
you shall find rooms, books, and teachers ; use them all gratis ; your 
parents need only feed and clothe you." . 

My reasons for this plan of free schools and free colleges I must defer 
to another week, hoping to show that republicanism requires some system 
of free culture, where the wealth of a coranmnity should pay for its schools. 
The undue rush of pupils to the college and university, which this plan 
may seem to tavor, can be fully and for ever prevented, and the law of 
demand and supply have its cofiservative and discriminating control. 
This plan will not interfere with the present foundations of professorships, 
&c., existing in our colleges. It will have many advantages over our 
present semi-feudal organizations. Among these advantages are three — 
1st. It will develope, for its noblest uses, the peculiar talent which God 
gives to any child ; 2d. It will make our colleges self-governing ; and, 
3d. It will secure the ablest talents in the State for teachers. 

If our Republic is to last a thousand years, is it not worth while to 
make it all it can be ? 

As a member of the examining committee of Harvard College, in 
the department of science, Mr. Brooks became convinced of the defi- 
ciencies in the mode of conducting the quarterly examinations ; and by 
a private circular assembled the examiners in the senate chamber of the 
State-house. There he exposed at length the errors of the established 
system, and ended with recommending future examinations by means of 
printed questions. The major part of seventy were ready to adopt his 
idea ; but the minority got immediate action postponed, which has 
amounted to an indefinite postponement. 

As secretary of the Sunday School society, Mr. B. has published four 
annual reports, whose objects were to go over the whole ground of spiri- 
tual culture ; and to show that the harmonious development of all the 
powers of the human soul, is the only way of realizing God's idea of 
a man. 

In 1838, he was elected Professor of Natural History in the Uni- 
versity of the city of New York ; and accepted on condition that he 
might spend some time in Europe, to prepare for his duties. Leave was 
granted him. 1'his ended a ministry of eighteen years in Hingham, to 
the same parish. The resolutions unanimously passed by the church 
and society, on the occasion, record their gratitude for his past labors, 
and their hearty wishes for his future success. Previous to his departure 
for Europe, he was married to Mrs. Charlotte A. H. Lord, daughter of 
Dr. Nath. Appleton Haven, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and with 
this highly estimable lady, he sailed for Havre, Nov. 9, 1849, taking 
with him his two children. During four years' residence, in difterent 
parts of the Continent, he devoted himself to the study of the animal 
kingdom, and after his return, published a large volume on Ornithology, 



REV. CHARLES BROOKS, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 491 

illustrated with many valuable plates, procured from bis friend Milne 
Edwards, Professor iu the Garden of Plants in Paris. Failure of eye- 
sigbt prevented the prosecution of tbe plan be bad projected for furtber 
publications ; and on tbe same account be resigned bis professor sbip, and 
retired to private life in Boston, where for tbe last ten years be has 
enjoyed tbe friendship and esteem of a large circle of intelligent and 
virtuous friends. 

To show tbe design and style of tbe work on Ornithology, we need 
quote only a few passages. 

" Tbe basis of all outward things is spiritual ; and I have written this 
work to indicate tbe path from tbe natural to the spiritual world. 

" Tbe Creator expresses himself to man by bis creations. The dis- 
tinguishing glory in the study of Natural History, is its development 
and illustration of tbe ways of God. Tbe science which does not pene- 
ti-ate this central idea, is only superficial amusement. I frankly confess, 
that the great charm which the visible universe has in my heart and 
eye, is its subordination to spiritual ideas. All beauty is to me 
reflective. 

"There is an all-pervading harmony in the vast creation, marshalling 
its infinite diversities. Every organ, in every animal, has a direct 
relationship to all the rest of tbe globe ; and we say tbat tbe form of tbe 
Condor's wing is as much a necessity as the power of gravitation, and that 
it bears as strict a relation to the earth, as gravitation does to the 
solar system." 

After narrating what Linnaeus, Buftbn, and Cuvier, had done, he sum- 
marily speaks of them thus : — 

" Butibn was a timely author ; for be completed what Linnaeus bad 
begun. If the Swede was a microscope, the Frenchman was a tele- 
scope. BufFon had the genius to recommend what Linnaeus had the 
talent to establisb. Linnaeus furnished all tbe facts ; Buftbn set them all 
to music. 

" When Heaven wants a philosopher, the order of events creates 
him. George Cuvier appeared at tbe proper moment ; and tbe nine- 
teenth century has crowned him tbe second great legislator in science. 
His treatise on comparative anatomy was, to this subject, not so much 
an epoch of regeneration as creation. A mind such as Cuvier possessed 
was needed for the age, and he finished his work as if he had been 
a divine messenger. He seemed to look upon tbe works of God, from 
that angle at which the mighty Maker himself surveyed them when he 
pronounced them good ; and he saw God shining through them all, as 
shines the sunbeam in a drop of dew." 

We will give but one more extract. 

" Every partich^ of matter is governed by a fixed and immutal)le law ; 
and this law originates in God, and is science to man. To separate the 
law from its source, is to separate creation from its Creator, and to leave 
the universe; an orphan. I devoutly hope that there may never be found 
in our country tbe mind tliat shall separate God and science ; but if, 
among intellectual motions, some centrifugal tendency may have propelled 
any original mind from the groat central idea of God in science, may that 
mind soon discover its fetal mistake, and be convinced tbat it cannot find 
in the whole universe another perihelion ; for we know that mind, like 



492 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

matter, moves in the direction of its impelling- force, and if the first im- 
pulse be given to it at the vv'rong point, unless its momentum be resisted 
and overcome by some opposing power, it will move onward in the path 
of eiTor, and drive along its downward way with accelerated velocity, aided 
by the gravity of accumulated error, till it finally passes and is lost in dreary 
space beyond the aflBnity of centripetal forces. Let us then rest in the 
conclusion, that true science is unchanging and immortal ; that it grows 
out of the relations which God himself has created, and that it stands for 
ever as his own language, as his first revelation ; and let us moreover re- 
joice, that the grand and sacred text of Divine Truth which it utters, is 
written in characters which will stand as long as the stars." — " Thus the 
true naturalist ' looks through nature up to nature's God,' and is more 
able than others to see, that Love is the great principle of gravitation in 
the spiritual world, binding every devout mind to the central source of 
life, wisdom, and bliss. 

" Oh ! that every one were able thus to think the Ci-eator's thoughts 
after him ; and thus welcome the Fatherhood of Goil and the Brotherhood 
of man." 

Mr. Brooks was elected a member of the Natui-al History Society of 
Massachusetts, soon after his return from Europe ; and the next year de- 
livered before them the annual address. 

His researches in Natural History, while at Paris, led him to watch 
physiological developments with peculiar interest ; and among the results 
he reached were some which relate to consanguinities. He has spoken 
and published on the subject of marriage between near relatives. He 
says — " Second cousins had better not marry ; but first cousins never : 
(rod and nature forbid the banns." 

He observed the sickly hue on the faces of city children, and published 
a plan of his for ?i farm- school for the sons of the rich men of cities. His 
idea was to give them country air, country work, country sports, and coun- 
try classics. Each feeble child was to spend six months on a farm, divid- 
ing the time properly between study, work, and play. This plan for pro- 
moting muscular strength has been highly approved, and will doubtless 
be adopted. 

" Non accepimus brevem vitam, sed fecimus." 

While residing in Boston he has been found so willing to work that he 
was at one time a member of nine executiv^e committees. For all these 
labors he refused compensation. For all his travel, time, and money in 
the cause of education, he never received one cent ; except after his course 
of lectures before the Legislature of New Hampshire, and there they pre- 
sented him with forty dollars. He has spent some thousands out of his 
own pocket. 

Having of late years circulated widely among his clerical brethren, he 
discovered the sorrowful fact that many of them were suffering in silence 
and in secresy from a want of adequate salaries. He began to collect sta- 
tistics ; and when convinced of the accuracy of his data he came forth be- 
fore his brethren, on " anniversary week," and proposed the formation of a 
" society for the relief of aged and destitute clergymen." He was readily 
met with an approving vote, and they requested him to prosecute his plan. 
Getting all the aid he could he drafted a constitution and by-laws, and 



REV. CHARLES BROOKS, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 493 

submitted tliem to his brethren. They were accepted, and the society was 
or<Tanizfd. He then proposed an act of iiiccMporation. Three members 
were chosen to procure the requisite legislatixe grant. The act was ob- 
tained by Mr. Brooks, and he was chosen secretary, and immediately com- 
menced raising funds ; and without one personal application he, with the 
treasurer, raisftl about eight thousand dolhu's towards a permanent fund. 
The interest only of the fund can be given ; and no one is allowed to 
know who receives aid, except the beneficiary and the executive committee. 
Most welcome succor has been afforded to many by this good Samaritan. 

Fond of mechanics, Mr. Brooks suggested some years since, to the 
Academy of Arts, a plan by which all the public bells of a city should 
be made to strike the hours, at the same instant, by means of a central 
electro-magnetic power. He thought this power miglit be so extended, 
that small bells in every house might announce the true time simulta- 
neously through a city. The fire-alarms, since introduced, are somewhat 
according to this idea. He has never had time or funds to build the 
machine. 

The writings of Mr. Brooks have been rather numerous than volumi- 
nous. He published anonymously two volumes of Biography, which 
were soon sold ; but he has not found the leisure to continue the series 
which he promised. 

While in Paris, he occupied one of his vacations in writing a book 
called ''Parisian Linguist," of 255 pages, whose object was to teach the 
best pronunciation of the French language, by means of an English 
spelling of each word. They who have not the aid of living teachers, 
and they who travel on the continent, have found this volume suited to 
their wants. 

He became interested in the inquiries of the American Statistical 
Association ; and as a member of it, published a paper on the sanitary 
survey of the state. He has been a contributor to the Colonization, 
Peace and Temperance publications, to the North American Review, the 
Christian Examiner, Scriptural Interpreter, Religious Magazine, Knicker- 
bocker, Graham's Magazine, one newspaper in Washington, one in New 
York,. and three in Boston. Of pamphlets and sermons, he has printed 
several ; one of which, on " Peace, Labor and Education in Europe," went 
through two large editions. His small volume of "prayers for indivi- 
duals," called " The Christian in his Closet," went through two editions 
in less than three months. After that destructive tornado, which occur- 
red in Middlesex County in Massachusetts, in August, 1851, the citizens 
of Medford requested Mr. Brooks to collect all the facts relating to it, 
with reference to science ; and after much labor, his report was published 
by its citizens. He is now writing a history of his native town, which 
will connect itself with all the interesting events of that part of the coun- 
try from 1630, to the present time. 

As specimens of his various style in writing, we might mention his 
sketch of his ascent on Mount Vesuvius during the eruption of 1834: 
his minute description of the wonderful improvisatrice of Italy, Rosa 
Taddai, whose extraordinary powers he witnessed at Rome ; his speech 
in that city, Feb. 22, 1834, on the true mission of "An American 
School of Fine Arts;" and his "Ride through the Gulph," among the 
Green Mountains of Vermont. 



494 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

As a specimen of his preaching we add a short extract. He has 
described the first disciples of our Lord, the primitive church at Jerusa- 
lem, and then he says : — 

" It girds the inner man with strength, to contemplate this band of 
believers, made invincible by the presence of a spiritual heroism. Think 
what God made that church at first, and not what man has made it 
since. The waters of life gushed pure from their heavenly fountain, but 
they have been discolored by every earthly bed over which they have 
glided. If you would see Christianity in its heaven-born beauty, and 
understand its new creative power, you must go to the mind of Christ, 
when he opened his mouth on the mount, and uttered the truths of the 
eternal kingdom. At that time, the Christian church was introduced to 
earth ; and that church was then pure, peaceful, and divine. It had not 
been contaminated by any mixture with the Grecian schools ; it had not 
been called upon to decide in councils, upon the subtleties of metaphysical 
doctrines ; it had not yet formed an alliance with political artifice ; it had 
not yet ascended the throne of the Caesars, or been made the instrument 
of powerful tyranny in the state, or usurped the place of all other govern- 
ment, or conceived the bold idea of dictating to the world. It had not 
yet even thought of laying the corner-stone of popery, or once dreamed 
of wearing the triple crown. Of course, it had not yet brought civil 
power to combine with religious zeal, nor given to worldly ambition the 
hue of Christian charity, nor baptized human passion with the name of 
godliness. It had not yet practised exorcism upon the bodies of the 
living, or used incantations for the souls of the dead. It had not yet 
armed with a sword every article of its faith, nor opened the fires of hell 
to illumine the way to heaven. It had not yet learned that most cruel 
of arts, to taint its very benefits with unkindness, to blemish with selfish- 
ness its own good works, to dip in gall the morsel it gave to imploring 
hunger, or line with thorns the garment it threw over shivering naked- 
ness. It had not yet learned lo stamp the crest of pride on all its gifts. 
Especially, it had not yet unfurled the banners of war, and at the head 
of a heated army, with the holy cross as standard, marched to the reco- 
very of the city of .Jerusalem. Above all, it had not yet sat in judgment 
over the consciences of men at the bar of an Inquisition, nor had it 
bound Servetus to a flaming stake, nor kindled the faggots around a pious 
Latimer. No — The infant church had not yet rolled its dreadful thun- 
ders to terrify, nor sent forth its sweeping lightnings to destroy." 

Mr. Brooks has two brothers and two sisters, towards whom he has 
always cherished the tenderest love ; and a large family of relatives, with 
all of whom he has lived on terms of closest friendship. To his two 
unmarried sisters he, with his brothers, requested his father to bequeathe 
bis portion of the paternal estate; and it was done. 




^guTied'by XCButtre feam a Dagaerreocjrpe 





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Emraved/ forBiographicaLSkstchB^ of Smirurut ^Smericans . 



REV. GEORGE M. RANDALL, 

RECTOR OF THE CHURCH OF THE MESSIAH, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. 

The Rev. George M. Randall, A. M., Rector of the Church of 
the Messiah, Boston, was born in the town of Warren, R. L, on the 
23d day of November, A. D. 1810. He was the eldest son of the 
Hon. Samuel Randall, who was a native of Sharon, Mass., and for sev- 
eial years one of the justices of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island. 

After having received a common school education, the subject of this 
sketch was employed for a short time in a printing-office, and was sub- 
sequently engaged as a clerk in the post-office of his native town. 
Being desirous of a liberal education, he proposed the matter to his 
father, who at once cordially expressed his approval of the plan, but 
remarked that he could not, consistently with other obligations, render 
his son any pecuniary aid in the prosecution of his purpose. Under 
these circumstances he commenced fitting for college. 

During the winter of 1828-9, he taught a district school, and in ac- 
cordance with the custom which then prevailed in the country, he 
boarded among the families whose children attended the school. But 
this itinerating mode of living did not prove particularly favorable to the 
study of Latin. The following winter he taught a similar school in Mas- 
sachusetts, where he enjoyed the privilege of boarding at one place, and 
was enabled to pursue his preparatory studies with greater advantage. 

In 1830, the master of the grammar-school in his native town was 
compelled, in consequence of ill health, to obtain leave of absence, 
when Mr. R. was employed for a few months as a substitute, during 
which time he entirely changed the plan of instruction, adopting a mode 
somewhat after the " monitorial system," as being the only practical 
method by which so large a number of pupils could be successfully 
taught by one instructor. On the return of the master to his post, the 
young student again applied himself to his studies. 

Early in the year 1831 the principal of this school resigned, and Mr, 
R. was elected to the mastership at a salary of four hundred dollars. 
The difficult task of managing a school of upward of a hundred schol- 
ars now devolved upon a young man who had not yet reached his ma- 
jority, while many of his pupils were his juniors only by a few years. 

He intended to have entered college in the autumn of this year, but 
being dependent on the avails of his labor for the means of defraying 
his college expenses, he resolved to continue his school, and by hard 
study, early and late, to keep up with the freshman class in college. 
This eflTort was a severe tax upon his mental and physical powers. In 
the spring of the following year he sent in his resignation to the school 
committee, who expressed a strong desire that he should continue in 
charge of the school. On their acceptance of his resignation, he im- 
mediately went to Brown University, was examined, and entered on 
the third term of the fresliman year. 

During his collegiate course, he found it necessary to husband his 



496 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



scanty resources by the practice of the most rigid economy. At this 
time he commenced keeping an account of his expenses, which practice 
he has ever since continued. By persevering effort and strict economy 
he was enabled to pay his college bills, and was not under the necessi- 
ty of asking pecuniary aid from any source until the latter part of the 
senior year. Sometimes, at the close of a term, he had hardly money 
enough in his purse to pay his stage-fare home, yet he managed to turn 
his vacations to such account as to enable him to earn a sum sufiicient 
to meet the payment of his college bills at the beginning of the new term. 
The first winter vacation after he entered college he employed in 
teaching a district school, together with an evening class. During one 
vacation he taught a writing school ; at another time he opened a school 
for instruction in English grammar; he delivered a course of lectures 
on optics ; and another vacation was improved in trying his skill in the 
art of peddling, in which vocation he succeeded to the satisfaction of 
his employers, and secured for himself the advantage of several days' 
journeying through the country, together with a fair compensation for 
his services. 

While a member of the senior class, he became interested in religion, 
and was baptized by the Rev. Geo. W. Hathaway, rector of" St. 
Mark's Church, Warren, R. I., and became a communicant of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church. On entering college it was his purpose, lono- 
and fondly cherished, to devote himself to the profession of the law. 
His mind and heart were now turned to the ministry of the church. 
After leaving college, in 1835, he became a candidateVor holy orders, 
and entered the General Theological Seminary of the P]-otestant Epis- 
copal Church in New York. By the assistance of kind friends he was 
enabled to pursue his theological course without serious embarrass- 
ment. During his residence of three years at the seminary he was en- 
gaged, with several other students, in the instruction of a Sunday school 
in the upper part of the city, which was held in the second story of an 
old building whose dilapidated condition afforded no very attractive 
accommodations for the prosecution of this labor of love. A lot was 
leased on the Harlem Railroad, a small wooden chapel was erected, 
and a parish organized under the name of " Calvary Church," which 
has since become one of the largest parishes in the city of New York. 
Having completed his theological course at the seminary, he gradu- 
ated in 1838, and was admitted to the holy order of deacons in July, 
by the late Bishop Griswold, in his native town. Having received and 
accepted a call to the rectorship of the Church of the Ascension, Fall 
River, Mass., he entered upon his duties on the Sunday after his ordi- 
nation. This parish had been organized about a year. It was a small, 
but a zealously devoted band of Christians. Their only place of wor- 
ship was a town-house, which, not having been built with reference to 
the conveniences of public worship, was neither very attractive to 
strangers nor very comfortable for the worshipers. In the course of 
two years, by strong exertions on the part of the parish, with the aid 
of their brethren abroad, a church edifice was obtained and consecrated. 
The parish continued to increase and prosper under his ministry. 
In the course of two years after Mr. Randall's settlement in Fall 



OF MASSACHUSETTS. 497 

River, he was elected a member of the school committee, which at that 
time consisted of some eight or ten members, among wliom were sev- 
eral of the clergymen of the different denominations. The fijllowing 
year the town saw fit to choose but three members of the committee, 
to whom the charge of all the schools was intrusted, of which board 
Mr. R. was made the chairman. Immediately after the election, the 
committee established a new code of regulations, which completely 
revolutionized the school system of the town. The comparative severi- 
ty of its discipline took the people so much by surprise, that a great ex- 
citement prevailed, which resulted in the appointment of four additional 
members of the committee, for the avowed purpose of nullifying the 
new measures. The new regulations were, however, carried out with 
scarcely any modification. The excitement settled into a strong oppo- 
sition, which continued through the year, and which, at times threat- 
ened to manifest itself in the form of a violent resistance of the regu- 
lations. At the next annual meeting, the town-house was thronged by 
a multitude eager to hear what the committee had to say in justification 
of their course, but apparently more earnest to pronounce the sentence 
of condemnation in the form of an effectual ballot. The annual report 
was drawn up and read by ]Mr. R., on whom the duty of defending it 
mainly devolved. A long and earnest discussion followed, the result of 
which was, that the report was accepted, ordered to be printed, and the 
committee re-elected by an overwhelming majority. This victory settled 
the public school system of the town, which has ever since obtained. 

Mr. Randall continued to hold the office of chairman of the school 
committee until he received a call to his present charge in Boston. 

In the spring of 1844, having received and accepted a call to be- 
come the rector of the Church of the Messiah, in the city of Boston, 
he resigned the charge of the parish in Fall River. His parishioners 
made him liberal offers as an inducement to remain among them, but 
on being assured that he felt it to be his duty to occupy another and 
much larger field, thus providentially opened, the wardens and vestry 
accepted his resignation, and on the evening before he left with his 
family, visited him in a body, and presented to him through their 
senior member a very flattering and affecting address, to which he 
responded, and after invoking the blessing of God upon them, and 
upon the beloved people of his late charge, he bid them an afiectionate 
larewell. Thus was dissolved a pastoral relation which had been 
cemented by six years of mutual endearment. In May, 1844, Mr. R. 
removed to Boston, and entered upon his duties as rector of the Church 
of the Messiah, a recently organized parish in that city. The congre- 
gation was small, and occupied a hall in the third story of a building 
in the southerly section of the city. 

In the course of two years, efibrts were made to obtain means for 
erecting a church edifice. Much of the unwelcome duty of soliciting 
funds for this purpose devolved upon the rector. After a long period 
of toils and anxieties, incident to such an undertaking, the necessary 
funds were secured, and a substantial church was erected in the Gothic 
style of architecture ; and in August, 1848, was consecrated by the 
Right Rev. Bishop Eastburn. 

32 



498 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Immediately after Mr. Randall's removal to Boston he was elected, 
by the Diocesan Convention, a member of the standing committee of 
the diocese, to which office he has been annually re-elected up to the 
present time. For several years he was president of that board. In 
1846 he was elected a member of the Diocesan Board of Missions, 
and he has continued in that office ever since. In 1850 he was elected 
as one of the clerical deputies to represent the diocese of Massachu- 
setts in the general convention, which held its triennial meeting in 
October of that year at Cincinnati, of which body he was appointed 
assistant secretary. He also received an appointment to the same 
office, at the late general convention which met at New York in 
October last, and at the same convention was one of the trustees of 
the General Theological Seminary. 

In 1845 Mr. Randall became the editor of the " Christian Witness 
and Church Advocate," a weekly paper published in Boston, and devoted 
to the interests of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and is still engaged 
in the discharge of the responsible labors of this office, in addition to 
his parochial and other duties. 

Soon after Mr. Randall became a citizen of Boston he was elected 
a member of the Primary School Board, which office he held for sev- 
eral years. In 1850 he was elected, by the citizens of the ward in 
which he resided, a member of the Grammar School Board, which 
office he now holds. Being deeply interested in the cause of public 
education, he has taken an active part in the doings of this board, 
which has the entire control of the grammar schools of the city. 

In 1851 Mr. Randall was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge 
of Freemasons in Massachusetts, being one of the youngest mem- 
bers of this ancient fraternity who has occupied this post since the 
chair was filled by the lamented patriot General Warren, who was 
grand master at the time he fell in his country's cause, on Bunker 
Hill. This grand lodge is the oldest on this continent, having been 
organized in 1733. 

In 1851 the House of Representatives of the State of Massachusetts 
elected him chaplain of that body. 

Endowed with an active mind, and trained to habits of systematic 
industry in connection with mental discipline and decision of character, 
the subject of this sketch has been enabled to discharge the multiform 
duties which belong to the several positions which he has been called 
to occupy. 

He early accustomed himself to the exercise of extemporaneous 
speaking. His lectures in his parish are without notes. On Sundays, 
his general rule is to preach one written sermon, and one sermon from 
an analysis. In 1842 he preached the annual sermon before the con- 
vention of the Eastern diocese, which then consisted of Maine, New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The sermon was highly 
spoken of by those who heard it, and was published by request. 

Several addresses delivered on various occasions, without notes, 
have also been published. 




i 

/ 





U^ r ^ri >.^-j n...r^r:^.'^ , JrniJ\. 



Si%cra^/e3^-^3worap'hic£LL3Jcetch£s of Ep^btervt^AmBriavLS . 



GEORGE W. -45ARPENTER, 

OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, 

Was born at Germantown, Philadelphia County, on the 31st day of 
Julv, 1802. He was educated at the collegiate academy of that villasre. 
At the age of about eighteen he entered the store of Charles Marshall, 
Jun., of Philadelphia, to learn the drug business. He remained in the 
employ of Mr. Marshall until the year 1828, when he commenced busi- 
ness on his own account, at No. 301 Alarket Street, Philadelphia, where 
he is still actively engaged in the drug and chemical business. He 
commenced business with a small capital, chiefly derived from the sav- 
ings of a moderate salary. Pie evinced habits of thrift and economy 
at the early age of boyhood, which, with habits of great industry and 
perseverance, increased with his years, and largely contributed in laying 
the foundation of the ample means now under his control. Shortly 
after entering the store of Mr. Marshall, he became acquainted with the 
distinguished naturalist, Thomas Nuttall, from whom he acquired a 
taste, which. soon ripened into an ardent love of the natural sciences. 
He became, in a short time, an enthusiastic student and votary of 
mineralogy. He applied all his leisure hours to the study of this most 
important and interesting branch of science. He was, in 1825, elected 
a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and 
was for many years one of the most active and devoted members of 
that highly honored institution. He was, in 1828, elected its treasurer, 
and has been re-elected every year since, to the present period. There 
is no institution in this country which is more worthy of patronage or 
support than the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. It 
maintains a high reputation, and has added largely to the stock of 
scientific knowledge in this country. It has no public endowment, nor 
patronage from the political government. It is supported by the mu- 
nificence, liberality, and industry of its members. The museum, li- 
brary, and treasury are all open to acts of liberality. There is no insti- 
tution better adapted to improve and refine the taste of the public, who 
are permitted to visit its museum, library, and various collections, free 
of expense. The student may there resort, with a certainty of obtain- 
ing information from the great field and laboratory of nature, where 
every department of the world's creation is fully represented and sys- 
tematically arranged in such order and classification as to facilitate in- 
vestigation, make research easy, and to crown the result with success. 

This institution was organized in 1812, by seven members, who 
labored for several years under embarrassments and discouragements, 
until 1817, when William Maclure, a lover of natural science and a 
great philanthropist, became its president. He expended large sums 
of his vast possessions for the cause of science and for the benefit of 
mankind. He was devoted to the academy, because the objects of the 



500 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 



institution harmonized with his own views of benevolence, and had for 
its design the universal diffusion of Ivnowledge. 

The academy became the recipient of his bounty, and he contributed 
large sums, which enabled her to increase her library and multiply her 
collections, to extend her means of usefulness, to put up buildings com- 
mensurate with the extent of her museum, and generally to impart 
such character and importance to the institution as to place the journal 
of its proceedings in exchange and sympathy with the most distinguished 
societies of this country and Europe. It has been since that period 
constantly pi-ogressing in usefuhiess and importance. Since the death 
of her lamented President Maclure. the academy has enrolled among 
its members Thomas B. Wilson, M.D., to whose bounty and liberality 
it is again indebted for large and valuable donations, by which she has 
been enabled to enlarge the buildings and to vastly increase the library 
and collections. There are now deposited within its walls, by Dr. 
Wilson, the most beautiful and valuable collection of birds in this 
country or Europe. The ornithological collection now embraces 27,000 
specimens, of which over 22,000 are displayed in cases, to which ad- 
ditions are constantly making. 

The museum is decidedly the best in the United States, and the 
cabinets of zoology, botany, and geology or mineralogy, are very ex- 
tensive. It embraces the large and most valuable collection of the late 
eminent Dr. S. G. Morton, of which there is no equal in either the 
new or old world. The botanical collections are also extensive, and 
number over 30,000 specimens, and are made up from the collections 
of Nuttall, Schweinitz, and other distinguished botanists. There are 
over 7,000 geological specimens, a large portion containing fossil organic 
remains. In mineralogy the collections are copious and precious. The 
library is large and highly valuable. The works on all the branches 
of science and arts are very extensive and complete, and contain the 
result of the labors and practical illustrations of some of the most emi- 
nent naturalists the world has yet produced — men who have devoted 
their whole lives to the investigation of the natural sciences. 

The collection is now undergoing a classification, and a complete cata- 
logue will shortly be issued. 

The academy is now making a further enlargement of its buildings, 
which is effected by contributions of members and others, of which Dr. 
Wilson, with his characteristic liberality, has taken a most active part. 

Mr. Carpenter found in this institution great sources of information, 
and was for years in constant attendance at the meetings of the society. 

In the formation of his cabinet of minerals, and his collections in 
other branches of natural science, he was remarkable for his zeal, in- 
dustry, and perseverance. He became acquainted with the localities 
of most of the minerals which existed within the reach of his travels, 
which were necessarily circumscribed by the unavoidable duties and 
requirements of his business ; but his collections were sufficiently ample 
to enable him to enter into exchanges with mineralogists at home and 
abroad, and in his indomitable thirst for knowledge, he in a short time 
became a correspondent of the most distinguished professors of miner- 
alogy in this country and Europe, By his ambition to excel and his 



GEORGE W, CARPENTER, OF PENNSYLVANIA. 501 

zeal to accumulate, his cabinet soon became large and highly interest- 
ing. The arrangement and classification of his collection evinced great 
skill and judgment ; his descriptions were peculiar and highly instructive ; 
each specimen was the suliject of an elaborate and detailed elucidation. 
The locality was so accurately and definitely given as to enable any one 
to find it with little difficulty. The specimens of interest being 
pointed out and explained; the uses and application of the minerals; 
the chemical affinities and constituent principles, together with inte- 
resting minutiae connected with their history and mode of obtaining them, 
etc., made the collection one of great interest and value. 

An account of the minerals discovered by Mr. Carpenter, with descrip- 
tions of their characteristics and localities,, were furnished from time to 
time to Professor Cleavland, who introduced them in the second edition 
of his valuable " System of Mineralogy," the publication of which has 
been delayed, but which, it is hoped, will yet soon be accompli'-hed. 

This valuable work is now out of print, and a copy of it could scarcely 
be found for sale. Tlie long-looked for edition will be hailed by every 
student and professor of mineralogy in this country. It is certainly a 
highly valuable work, and the cause of science would be promoted by 
its publication. We hope that Professor Cleavland may be induced to 
put it in publication at an early day. 

A descriptive account of these minerals was also transmitted to Pro- 
fessor Silliman of Yale College, Connecticut, and appeared at various 
times in the pages of that most exxellent periodical, Silliman's "Journal 
of Science and Arts." This is certainly a most valuable work, and 
can not be too highly praised. Its publication is still continued, and is 
now edited by Professors Benjamin Silliman, Jun., and James B. Dana, 
both of whom are eminently distinguished for their talent, industry, and 
scientific attainments. This work, so well edited by the elder Silliman, 
must continue to prosper under the efficient management of the present 
editors. 

Mr. Carpenter soon became known, through his publications and cor- 
respondence, with men of science and learning, and was at an early age 
made a corresponding and honorary member of many distinguished sci- 
entific societies of Europe. His midnight hours were spent in mineral- 
ogical investigations, and in writing his experience and views upon vari- 
ous scientific subjects. His first publication. Carpenter's " Essays on Ma- 
teria Medica,"' soon passed into a second edition, and would have been 
enlarged and continued but for the unavoidable occupation and increased 
and pressing business engagements which prevented him from giving 
proper attention to it. His " Medicine Chest Dispensatory" — a treatise on 
the properties and application of the various articles most commended in 
domestic medicine, with a concise description of diseases, directions 
for the treatment of such as are unattended with serious conseqtiences ; 
showing also the best immediate measures to be adopted in disorders and 
accidents which are destructive to life, when the physician is not at hand, 
or until his assistance can be procured — is a useful and highly approved 
work. 

He contributed a number of papers on various medical subjects, and 
especially on Materia Medica and Pharmacy, to the pages of the " Amer- 



502 



SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS* 



ican Journal of Medical Science," then edited by the late Professor Chap- 
man and others, and since edited by Dr. Isaac Hays, of Pliiladelphia. 
This journal is decidedly one of the most valuable periodicals of medi- 
cal science published in the United States. It has an immense circula- 
tion, and its subscribers embrace the most eminent physicians in the 
various states of the Union. These publications made Mr. Carpenter 
extensively known to the practicing physicians of the United States, and 
laid the foundation for the flourishing business which he so soon acquired 
after opening for himself in 1828, at No. 301 Market Street. 

When it was announced by the editors of the same journal in which 
he was so favorably known as a writer, that he was about to open a drug 
and chemical warehouse at No. 301 Market Street, he entered at once 
into a prosperous business, and orders poured in upon him from all parts 
of the United States. His enterprises were prosperous at the outset, 
and his success up to the present day is too well known to be described 
in this memoir. 

His medicines are proverbially known in every state of the Union, and 
are up to this day sought after and used by the practicing physicians in 
all parts of the country. 

■ Mr. Carpenter is well known to have given at all times his close per- 
sonal attention to business, and that his aim and policy has always been 
to select the best quality of goods. By these means he not only suc- 
ceeded in retaining his patrons, but also in enlisting their influence on his 
behalf among their medical acquaintances ; the multiplied advantages 
of such a course may readily be inferred. It is from this and other 
favorable causes that a number of those who patronized him at his out- 
set in 1828, continue to send at this period for their annual supplies. It 
is not unreasonable to suppose that the same success will attend, and the 
same favorable results will continue, as long as Mr. Carpenter gives his 
personal attention to the business. 

In 1836 Mr. Carpenter made a tour through the southern and west- 
ern states, to collect outstanding debts, and to make a personal acquaint- 
ance with his patrons, who he had previously only known by corre- 
spondence. He made in this trip large collections, and also considerably 
increased his business. He made, while in the west, various investments 
in* real estate, some of which have already proven to be extremely valu- 
able, and have largely enhanced within the last few years. Shortly after 
his return from this tour he purchased a farm in the borough of Ger- 
mantown, the place of his nativity, on which he erected a large and mag- 
nificent mansion, with other useful and ornamental buildings, which is 
now an object of admiration to a large number of persons who daily 
visit it. The grounds are tastefully laid out, and the walks and avenues 
elaborately furnished. This estate is now the family residence of Mr. 
Carpenter, which he has called Phil-Ellena, in honor of his Avife. This 
property embraces over one hundred acres of choice land, and is all 
within the borough limits of Germantown. This property, although 
costing a large sum of money, by the extraordinary character of the im- 
provements, will no doubt, by the large increase in the value of the 
land, more than repay Mr. Carpenter for his entire outlay. The property 
laid out in building lots on the various streets by which it is bounded and 



GEORGE W. CARPENTER, OF PENNSYLVANIA. 503 

others Avliicli will hereafter intersect it, will command at an early day a 
very large sum over the whole cost of the land, together with the sums 
expended in the extensive improvements upon it. 

Mr. Carpenter, with a perception peculiar to him, foresaw at an carlv 
day what Germantown must be, and with a view to that eftVct he made 
large purchases of land on the best terms he could obtain, until he had 
acquired over 500 acres, which embraces several valuable farms, a large 
number of town lots, and over sixty dwelling-houses. These purchases 
will eventually produce a ver}^ large pecuniary profit. 

The improvements made by Mr. Carpenter, and his large purchases 
of property, gave an impulse to that ancient and late quiet village, in 
which the inhabitants had been sleeping for more than a century past. 
They began to appreciate and realize the importance and value of im- 
provement, and began to put an increased estimate on the price of their 
lands. This feeling soon pervaded the entire population, who shook ofi' 
the drowsiness of the past and entered in the swelling tide of specula- 
tion. Farms were sold at high prices, and resold, divided and sub-di- 
vided into building lots. In this way the worthy and industrious in- 
habitants received a remunerating regard for the hard-earned posses, 
sions of their honest and frugal forefathers, who were noted for their 
habits of industry and economy. A large number of houses were built, 
and the town soon after incorporated into a borough ; streets were 
opened, graded, curbed, and paved ; water and gas works erected, and 
pipes for both laid in the principal streets. This borough is now the 
most flourishing and populous of the rural districts of the county of 
Philadelphia, and is fast encroaching upon the incorporated districts. 
Its prosperity and success is so fully established that it can not retro- 
grade, and its course must be onward. 

As an evidence of the rapid increase in the value of land, Mr. Car- 
penter has been oflered two thousand dollars per acre for land for which 
he paid but seventy-five dollars per acre a few years since. Of late 
years Mr. Carpenter has given more of his time to public business, and 
has been eminently successful in almost every enterprise he has given 
his attention to. He became a director of the Philadelphia, German- 
town, and Norristown Railroad Company, when total bankruptcy and 
an abandonment of the road was considered inevitable. lie and others 
of the directors, assisted by a president of superior qualifications, per- 
severed amid what was considered by the public, and even by some 
of the directors, to be insurmountable difliculties, and finally succeeded 
in resuscitating the bankrupt institution, and giving it a position which 
soon restored its credit, and enabled it to overcome the pressing em- 
barrassments in which it had been so recently involved, and to fui'nish 
means to improve the road and increase the business. The road was 
put in as good condition as the limited resources of the company would 
permit, and the business which had been so long languishing began to 
revive and to assume more encouraging prospects. The impoverished 
and embarrassed condition of the finances of the company, however, was 
past redemption without some compromise among the creditors. An 
amicable adjustment was accordingly made with all the creditors, in 
which each class was provided for in a sound ratio of interest, giving to 



I 



504 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

each of them, proportionate to the priority of their claim, in such man- 
ner as to make an impartial distribution to all, and which resulted in a 
harmony of interest in the final settlement. 

The plan submitted was approved of by the stock and loan holders, 
and was considered feasible and advantageous to all parties concerned, 
both as stockholders and as creditors. With very few exceptions, the 
creditors voluntarily and promptly came into the measure, which they 
considered was the best mode which could be devised, and which pro- 
moted the interest of all parties in proportion to their position as cred- 
itors, and to the actual value of their claims. 

The first, second, and third mortgage holders, the holders of notes and 
accounts, the holders of excessive issues and of spurious loans and 
stocks, and those who had open and unadjudicated claims and accounts 
of various kinds against the company, were all provided for and put on 
a satisfactory basis of settlement, by the issue to them of new bonds 
and by a participation in the stock of the company. Had this ar- 
rangement not been made, and that promptly, at the time, the few 
locomotives and cars would have been sacrificed, the rails on the road 
taken up and sold, and the road abandoned (as it was not then paying 
the expenses of its operation) ; and in the accomplishment of this, only 
a few judgment creditors could have been paid, and the bulk of the cred- 
itors would never have received a farthing. .This scheme, therefore, 
while it eventually greatly benefited the stockholders, went to the im- 
mediate and permanent relief of all the creditors of the company, every 
one of whom was reached, and all of whom have realized par, or nearly 
so, for the new bonds taken, and who were also greatly benefited by 
the rise of the stock and the prospect of increasing dividends. Mr, Car- 
penter's, who was then a holder of tiae first and third mortgages, and had 
then but a small amount of stock, was the first signature to the consol- 
idation. 

He recommended all the creditors to purchase the stock of the com- 
pany, which was for a long time between five and ten dollars per share, 
and by which more than all their losses of interest would have been 
made up. He also recommended his friends and acquaintances to make 
investments in it, when at a very low price. It was difficult, how- 
ever, to convince or persuade any one that the stock would ever be 
worth ten dollars per share. 

The business of the company from this period began gradually to 
increase, and the affiiirs of the company to prosper. The stock of the 
company, which at one time would with difficulty command seventy-five 
cents to one dollar per share, is now commanding about fifty-eight dol- 
ars, and the future prospect of the company is most encouraging, and 
promises a further large increase in the value of the stock. 

Mr. Carpenter was one of the commissioners of the Great Central 
Pennsylvania Railroad, designed to open a direct communication from 
Philadelphia to the Ohio Ptiver through the Alleghany Mountains, a 
work of immense magnitude, and of incalculable advantage to the trade 
and commerce of Philadelphia. He was elected a member of the first 
board of directors, and has continued in this office (elected by the stock- 
holders) to the present time. He was liberal in his own subscription 



GEORGE W. CARPENTER, OF PENNSYLVANIA. 505 

to this great and noble enterprise, and eminently successful in obtain- 
ing subscriptions from other sources. He took an active part in every 
movement affecting the interest of the company, and in the several 
schemes and plans for increasing the capital stock, he gave a stimulus 
to it by a liberal subscription on his own part; and by indeflitigable 
zeal and indomitable perseverance accomplished much of the success 
which crowned the undertaking. 

The company has now fully achieved what was considered by many 
totally impracticable. The increasing value of real estate, and the 
rapid improvement which has already been felt in the trade and com- 
merce of Philadelphia, points to the future without an estimate what 
this mammoth enterprise will yet do for Philadelphia and the state of 
Pennsylvania. It is highly creditable to the business men of Philadel- 
phia that this gigan'ic work was chiefly accomplished by them. It re- 
ceived little or no aid from the capitalists or from the large holders of 
real estate ; and the subscriptions to the stock were chiefly made by 
the industrious classes of every department of trade and the useful arts, 
who contributed to the extent of their means. It is most fortunate that 
its management was placed in safe and competent hands. It has been 
built with remarkable success and great economy, without waste of 
time or money ; and, what seldom occurs in so large an enterprise, 
within the estimated cost and time of construction, and, what is equally 
extraordinary and unusual, has earned and paid the interest on the cost 
while part of the road was in process of construction, and still further 
rare, the capital stock being at par before the work was finished. These 
remarkable events in the history of this great enterprise reflects great 
credit upon the managers in whose hands it has been so prosperous, 
and which has been appreciated by the stockholders. 

The success of the several railroads in which Mr. Carpenter took so 
active a part, gave to him, in j^ublic estimation, some reputation as a 
manager, and we now find him an active director in six several rail- 
roads, located in different parts of the state, which were built princi- 
pally by Philadelphia capital, and are calculated to promote the trade 
of the city. He very naturally endeavored to shrink from the duties 
and responsibilities of so many enterprises, but was prevailed on to 
accept them, by the pressing solicitation of friends, and by a desire to 
promote, as far as he was able, objects of so great importance to the 
interests of his native city. He hopes, however (and it is his design), 
to be shortly relieved, at least from a part of these duties. 

The various charges, trusts, and engagements of a public and private 
character which are now performed by Mr. Carpenter, is a striking 
illustration of what can be accomplished by an individual, especially 
when it is known that, in addition to the directorship of six railroad 
companies, one of the banks, one of the insurance offices, an active 
member of four councils, executor and administrator of several estates, 
he has his own private aflliirs, which are of an extensive character, and 
which require his personal care and supervision. lie has three fiirms, 
which are stocked and furnished by him, and worked for his account: 
one of 100 acres, one of 75 acres, and one of 60 acres — the operations 
of which are superintended by him. In addition he has several large 



506 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

farms rented, all of which require management, attention, and skill, 
especially in the leasing and in the fulfillment of the provisions to 
which they are subject. Neglect or inattention to the farms and ten- 
antry would soon lead to a deterioration of the stock and an impover- 
ishment of the land. 

Mr. Carpenter is a large real estate holder; he is the owner of over 
400 houses in the city and county of Philadelphia, consisting of stores, 
dwelling-houses, and factories, and scattered throughout the city and 
the adjoining districts, all of which are under his supervision and man- 
agement. He has three agents for the collection of rents, who make 
daily returns of all money collected. The payment and settlement 
are all made personally to Mr. Carpenter, and the entries and accounts 
are kept by him. All improvements and repairs to be done are re- 
ported to Mr. Carpenter, who gives direction for their execution as he 
may think most advisable. Bills for work and material are examined 
and paid by him, and all work of magnitude is personally superintended 
by him during the process of construction, and what he may overlook 
his faithful agents, Booth, Parker, and Good, are sure to accomplish. 

He is senior partner of the drug and chemical business at No. 301 
Market Street, and attends to the correspondence and financial part of 
the business. His only partner, W. C. Henszy, attends to the pur- 
chases and sales of goods, and has the general supervision of the hands 
employed in the establishment and in the manufacturing department. 
He is an industrious and worthy man, and entitled to the confidence 
of Mr. Carpenter. 

It is a matter of surprise, and is often questioned, how it is possible 
for any individual to attend and master such extensive operations, and 
of so diversified and complicated a character. In addition to a well- 
balanced mind, and a peculiar aptitude for arduous and complicated 
duties, much depends upon a methodical arrangement of time. The 
great secret is in early rising. Mr. Carpenter has few leisure moments. 
He accomplishes much while half the world is asleep. He rises 
between four and five o'clock, and does more before breakfist than 
many, who profess to be business men, do all day. He has found, as 
will any one else who tries it, that all complicated correspondence, 
and objects which require thought and calculation, can be done more 
effectually between four and six o'clock in the morning than at any 
time of day or night. The faculties of the mind are then fresh and 
vigorous, and the energies of the body strong, and can then be freely 
exercised without fatigue, or in any degree more impaired than by 
lying in bed at unseasonable hours. Few sleep in summer mornings 
after five o'clock. Those who indulge in the practice acquire habits of 
indolence, and the drowsiness which early rising would have dispelled, 
follows those votaries of slumber throughout the day, and is visible in 
all their operations. It is a rare case for a healthy man to require 
twelve hours' sleep who is not a blockhead. 

Five or six hours' sleep is sufficient for most men, wdiile eight hours 
is an extreme in any case. Persons whose nervous organization is 
predominant require the largest amount of sleep. The active exercise 
of the brain while awake requires a proportionate excess of sleep, and 



GEORGE W. CARPENTER, OF PENNSYLVANIA. 507 

an inadequate sleep in such cases is not recommended ; but in all cases, 
however extreme, eight iiours' sleep may be considered a maximum 
as a general rule, and when rest has been disturbed for a successive 
period, proper allowances must be made. There are persons fortu- 
nately constituted who require comparatively little sleep, and who, at 
the same time, possess a highly nervous organization. Brougham and 
John Quincy Adams were striking instances, and Napoleon was a still 
more remarkable example. 

The great emperor rarely slept five hours, and he owed much of his 
extraordinary success as much to his capacity to endure fatigue, as to 
his genius. He could do the labor of two ordinary men, if not more, 
without fatigue. Yet after periods of immense and protracted exer- 
tions he would sleep for nearly a whole day. Bourienne, his secretary, 
relates that after Napoleon returned from Russia, he slept eighteen 
hours without waking. It is believed, however, that few intellectual 
men could have performed Napoleon's quantity of work at any time with 
so little sleep. Laboring with the brain is even more exhausting than 
laboring with the muscles, and consequently demands as much repose 
for purposes of recupei'ation. Nevertheless there are a large number 
of persons with whom sleep has become a disease. They rise late, sleep 
after dinner, doze all day, and nod in the evening, and, in fact, may be 
said to be never more than half awake. Mr. Carpenter is in his office 
at five o'clock to attend to his business affairs at Germantown, and re- 
mains there until bix o'clock, when he takes breakfast. After remain- 
ing about an hour with his wife and children, he proceeds in the neat and 
comfortable cars of the Germantown railroad for the city, to embark in 
the bustle and turmoil of business, and to take his part in the swell of 
the roaring tide of trade and commerce whicli flows into our prosperous 
city, and to perform the arduous and multiplied duties which are daily 
imposed upon him. The ride in the cars is a most agreeable requiem 
from business, and relieves the monotony of a city life. It occupies 
about thirty minutes' time in reaching the city, which (owing to the fre- 
quent stoppages at stations on the line to accommodate the passengers) 
is as short as the trip can be safely made. The time is not by most 
complained of, and when the association with the agreeable and highly 
intelligent business men who are on their way also, is considered, it is 
sometimes found to be short, as the depot is reached in the midst of a 
most interesting and exciting discussion. Opportunities are afforded for 
a free interchange of opinions on the topics which then engross the pub- 
lic mind, and foreign and domestic relations are settled without diplo- 
macy or the aid of interested parties. Discussions are freely partici- 
pated in by most of the passengers, especially in the front car, whose 
occupants are generally intimately acquainted, and puns, wit, and satire 
give spirit and warmth to the argument, and the excitement, however 
great, always terminates in harmony and good humor on the dispersion 
at Ninth and Green streets, Mr. Carpenter strongly recommends Ger- 
mantown to business men as a place of residence, affording a cool retreat 
from a hot city after the arduous labors of the day, and calculated to 
promote health and prolong life. It certainly has many advantages over 
any other of the rural districts. 



508 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Mr. Carpenter is actively engaged in the city until six o'clock p. m., 
when he again takes the cars for Germantown, and after taking tea with 
his family, devotes the remaining hours of the evening in finishing his 
business correspondence, and otlier writing which could not be com- 
pleted while in the city. His rule is to finisli up each day's work, and 
not postpone for to-morrow any thing which could be at all done to-day. 
A strict observance of this rule will work miracles, and will give occa- 
sional time and opportunities for thought and reflection in the midst of 
the usual excitement of large and multiplied transactions. No man can 
be a successful merchant without having in early life acquired a knowl- 
edge of the value of time and mone}', and who has not been eai-ly trained 
to possess patience, and to endure i-epi-oof without anger, to bear contra- 
diction with good humor, to decide quickly, and always to remember 
that there are just sixty minutes in an hour. 

Without such training, dissatisfaction, difficulties, and disappointments 
will attend his operations, embarrass his enterprises, diminish his re- 
sources, and eventually lead to ruin. He should always remember that 
whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well, and not to be dis- 
couraged by obstacles which at first sight may appear insurmountable, 
but oftentimes can be overcome by patience, perseverance, and a determ- 
ination to accomplish what human power can do. 

His advice to young men is to study in early life the several branches 
of natural science, and to select some object or branch of that depart- 
ment to concentrate his affections upon. One may fancy ornithology, 
another botany, another conchology, or mineralogy, or geology, or any 
otlier branch of the sciences. Mineralogy is undoubtedly the most use- 
ful as well as the most pleasing, and if a taste is acquired for it, will 
very soon captivate its young volary and arouse his ambition, awaken 
his imagination, inspire his confidence, and rapidly kindle up the spirit 
of pride and emulation for his favorite pursuit. The study of the natu- 
ral sciences has the effect of inspiring and refining the faculties of the 
human mind, and directinsc them to thought and reflection, creates an 
attachment for the immortal works of genius, a love of science, and a 
fondness for the arts. It will effectually prevent associations with the idle 
and dissolute, and often induce them to seek some quiet and seques- 
tered spot, far from the unmeaning manners of the noisy world, and 
there, by a proper exercise of feeling, to store their minds witli the prin- 
ciples of true philosophy. It will effectually create a distaste for the 
useless sports and insipid amusements which occupy the thoughts and 
actions of the gay and frivolous in the pursuit of expected pleasures 
and enjoyment, which are found in the end to have been flattering 
illusions. 

Mr. Carpenter attributes his success in business and accumulation of 
property to the early taste Avhich he acquired, through his friend Nut- 
tall, for the study of mineralocfv. He acquired by the arrancrement of 
his cabmet of animals, by the classification of them in the various spe- 
cies and orders under the admirable system of Professor Cleavland, 
that system and classification of his business by which so much was ac- 
complished in a brief period of time, and which has so signally charac- 
terized his operations in public and private life. 



GEORGE W. CARPENTER, OF PENNSYLVANIA. 509 

Method and system are essential to the success of any enterprise, and 
no pursuit or calling in life can piosper without it. Labor, however 
arduous and untirino- is often lost for WcUit of manao-ement and skill. How 
frequently in the private walks of life and in our intercourse with the 
woild do we see failure and disappointment in all the avocations of man ! 
A gardener who wants method allows one phiiit to wither for want of 
water, and another to be diowned by excess. He postpones the renewal 
of the Avoin-out and exhausted earth around the root of his tender ex- 
otics, until the leaves grow j-ellow and the plant gradually dies, and he 
does not discover the cause until too late for the remed3% 

The farmer who wants method leaves over night his plow in the field 
and his implements exposed to the weather; he puts in his crops unseas- 
onably, and allows the weeds to take the place of his potatoes and 
corn, and when harvest comes he wonders at the small yield, consid- 
ering the good quality of his seed and the amplitude of manure ex- 
pended upon it. 

The merchant who does not make a proper discrimination in those 
who apply for credit, and who fails to make collections considerably 
in advance of .his engagements, and keeps not in view the date and 
number of his notes, soon becomes embarrassed. His first step is the 
postponing of payment, if possible, by additional issues, whieh only 
increase his liabilities, and he finds when too late, after sacrificing all 
his available means to keep up his credit, he is finally broken down by 
usurious rates of interest, and is obliged in the end to make an 
assignment of bad debts. 

The physician who goes to a distant part of the country to practice, 
without taking a full supply of medicines and surgical instruments, 
finds, upon being suddenly called to perform an operation in a gieat 
emergency, or to restore a patient sinking with fever, that he has neither 
the instruments nor the medicine in his possession, and can not obtain 
them without sending to a distant city, and in the mean time his patient 
dies. 

These are a few familiar instances, but cases might be multiplied 
without number, and applicable to all branches of business and trade 
which engage the attention of man, 

Mr. Carpenter has found that the purchase of goods for cash instead 
of credit is in all cases highly advantageous, and even where the cap- 
ital is small will be found equally beneficial. It causes purchases to 
be made with more caution, prudence, and economy, and prevents the 
accumulation of an overstock and the losses of unsaleable articles. 

The small advance demanded for goods purchased in limited quan- 
tity is more than made up by the discount for cash, and also by the 
advantage of always having a fresh stock of goods, and especially 
in the relief from ail financial embarrassment. No matter how small 
the capital, it can be practiced at least to some extent, and in propor- 
tion to that extent will the advantages flow and the difiiculties diminish. 

The giving of notes is calculated to mislead young beginners by 
putting otf the day of payment, and in doing so to increase the extent 
of their purchases, by means of which a stock altogether unnecessary 
has accumulated ; and when the day of payment arrives they are less 



510 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

prepared to meet it than when the notes were first given. The unneces- 
sary and superfluous stock bought because a long credit was given, and 
because it was considered a bargain, has now to be sacrificed to meet 
the notes, much labor and great anxiety is incurred, loss of time and 
vexation follows, and finally losses instead of profit result. 

Never venture in business entirely on credit. If you have not some 
cash capital, postpone commencing business until you have acquired at 
least a part of it. 

It is not safe to sell a person who purchases his whole stock of goods 
on credit. It is next to an impossibility to meet the payment of his notes 
out of the sale of his goods, and if he has no other resources of cash 
he becomes embarrassed at the outset of his business, his credit becomes 
injured, he feels discouraged, and in the dilemma he seeks relief by sell- 
ing out, and his creditors are often the losers, A small and well- 
selected stock, bought for cash, enables you to rise and fall with the 
market prices. In all your transactions adhere closely to those whom 
you know to be just and honorable, and shun all others, even at a 
temporary disadvantage ; the first loss is the best, and always the lightest. 
Never take advantage of a customer who is ignorant of prices and 
quality, nor in any way abuse his confidence. Purchase and sell the best 
quality of articles and deal as little as possible in any others ; you will 
in this way secure a good reputation, and will in the end make more 
money than could be realized from the temporary advantages of in- 
creased profits out of inferior and spurious goods. 

The cash basis to the merchant is what the anchor is to the mariner. 
The want of it is like commencing the building of a house without 
capital to finish it, illustrations of which are everywhere visible in our 
walks through the city ; naked walls, with or without roofs, stand ex- 
posed to wind and weather for a year or more, until a sherift''s sale 
transfers them to new hands, with the loss of the capital first expended 
upon them. 

In addition to cash capital, no man should embark in business with- 
out first having acquired a habit of early rising, and of avoiding com- 
pany at a late hour ; he should not accustom himself to be in company 
after ten o'clock at night ; if he is out of bed at that hour as a habit, it 
should be in study or in finishing the labors belonging to the day, or 
in reducing that which could not be accomplished before breakfast of 
next day. 

These are some of the rules important and necessary to a successful 
business man ; they may be considered onerous and severe, and may 
be sneered at by the dissolute, but they are simple and easy to the 
determined, and are indispensable to all who have their fortunes to 
make. If he neglects them and is poor, he will remain so all his life. 
A great deal can be accomplished by the early training of children. 
No man, whatever may be his means, should bring up his children in 
idleness, or in any way to acquire habits of neglect or indolence ; it 
will be sure to lead on to various degrees of vice, and will end in dissi- 
pation and ruin. He had better leave them lessons of good advice 
and an empty purse, than money which they will be sure to squander, 
perhaps with loss of health and reputation. It requires method and 



GEORGE W. CARPENTER, OF PENNSYLVANIA. 511 

talent to keep money as well as to make it ; iHdeed, with some the task 
of keeping money is greater than that of making it. Every man who 
reaches the age of fifty, who has enjoyed good health, whatever may- 
have been his calling or avocation, should have laid up enough, if not 
for his after life, at least sufficient to keep him and his flimily from 
want or pecuniary embarrassment. They have the example of the 
humblest insects in creation, which are busy in laying up their winter 
store. And should not man, with high intellectual faculties and en- 
dowed with reason, be more provident against want and necessity 
than the humblest insect which crawls under his feet 1 

There is a natural disposition and an acquired tendency in most men 
to spend all they make, and with some to spend a little more. Every 
man in the community who enjoys good health, no matter what may 
be his calling — from him who earns a dollar or upward — can lay by 
a portion. 

It only requires a commencement of the practice of saving part of 
the earnings, and all difficulty will soon be overcome. In this way 
every man, from those of small earnings up to the largest, would lay 
the foundation of a practice which would daily grow in favor, and its 
effect would be to elevate the moral standard, and give a new impulse 
to action. 

It is the duty of every man who brings up a flimily to provide for 
the events of sickness and death, so that they may not be suddenly left 
destitute, especially if brought up in luxury, with habits of extravagance, 
with no ideas of economy, and without the knowledge or means of provid- 
ing for themselves. How much better would it be to take part of the 
money expended in luxury and extravagance, and lay up a fund to meet 
the natural contingencies to which all are liable, and not be entirely 
dependent upon sunshine friends, who are warm in the days of pros- 
perity, and who disappear on the approach of adversity. They might 
truly exclaim, in the language of the poet : 

" And what is friendship but a name, 
A charm that lulls to sleep; 
A sound that follows wealth and fame, 
But leaves the wretch to weep !" 

We have presented the subject of this memoir to our readers through 
his general associations from boyhood to the present period, from which 
they may draw with much accuracy his character, habits, and capacities. 
In conclusion, we will briefly add that he is probably the most wealthy 
merchant now in business in the city of Philadelphia, occupying the high- 
est position in the commercial world which enlarged capacity, enlightened 
enterprise, and strict, stern, and unyielding integrity can confer; he 
enjoys the most elevated place in society which talents, good nature, and 
scrupulous propriety, with fortune and an accomplished family gives ; 
in his family circle he has all that refined and delicate accomplishments 
in a beautiful wife and sweet and promising children can yield. His 
private dwelling-house is perhaps the most elegant and splendid mansion 
in the Union, modeled in the finest style, and finished with the most 
elegant polish, furnished from top to bottom with the most beauti- 



512 SKETCHES or EMINENT AMERICANS. 

ful, and elegant, and costly furniture; nor is this peculiarity limited to 
his princely mansion, but the same taste, and refinement, and corre- 
pondence exists from the stables to the kitchen, throughout every de- 
partment of his homestead. His mansion is the daily resort of hundreds 
of visitors to the city of Philadelphia. His business house, 301 Mailiet 
Street, Philadelphia, is the largest and most convenient drug estab- 
lishment in the Union. Everywhere, in all things connected with G. 
W. C, we find the enlarged, enlightened, enterprising man, with the 
stamp and impress of his talents .made with a power, and force, and 
peculiarity not to be mistaken or forgotten when once seen. He is 
not only the pride of his fiimily and friends, but he is an ornament to 
the great and flourishing city which cherishes for him so just and proper 
an appreciation. He is a model for imitation by young aspirants after 
fortune, ambition, or honor. In an acquaintance of twenty-five years 
the writer has never seen him out of temper, but always self possessed 
and graceful in all positions, and under every variety of circumstances. 
He has native talents of a high order, with a vast stock of knowledge, 
scientific, political, and business, qualifying him for all the relations of 
life in the most eminent degree. His knowledge is general and varied, 
fitting him for usefulness and success in life, as well as to adorn and 
delight the highest social circles. With the most elevated position in 
society, with the most ample and abundant fortune for all the aims of 
ambition in private and public enterprise, with a spotless reputation, 
and the respect and confidence of all classes in the country, we know 
no man so modest, better worthy of the emulation of the youth of the 
country, possessed of all that the earth affords for the satisfliction of the 
human mind, or to direct it to the higher, and nobler ends for which man 
has been created, with his superior endowments, than George W. Car- 
penter, once a poor boy, with humble parentage, with no patronage but 
his own talents, integrity, and genius. With great pleasure we present 
him to our readers, satisfied that a study of his character will benefit 
the young, and, if followed, will confer upon such as follow in his foot- 
steps like rewards and honorable distinctions. We need not say more ; 
we could not say less! 




ii'Lll. ,. J..-,t - i'V ■..'IJ.:i_[.'Jt 




^ 




!^^e;^-7 



MARSHALL P. WILDER, 

OF HAWTHORN GROVE, DORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, 

Marshall Pinckney Wilder was born September 22cl, 1798, in 
Riiidge, N. H., a town which has given many illustrious men to the 
slate and the church. Among them may be noticed Rev. Edward 
Payson, D. D., of Portland, Me., whose praise is in all our churches ;* 
Hon. Addison Gardner, of late lieutenant-governor, and at present judge 
of the Supreme Court in New York ; and Hon. Geo. P. Barker, recently 
attorney-general in the Empire State; all nurtured in the same district 
school with the suViject of our narrative; all consecrated at the same 
baptismal font. This town is situated in Cheshire county, twenty 
miles southeast of Keene. Its scenery is beautifully diversiHed with 
diluvial hills and small lakes or ponds, of which it contains no less than 
thirteen. 

Mr. Wilder was the eldest of nine children, five daughters and four 
sons, whose lineage appears in that model genealogical work, the 
" Book of the Lockes."f His father, Samuel Lo'cke Wilder, Esq., who 
removed to that town with an elder brother from Sterling, then a part 
of Lancaster, Mass., is now in the seventy-sixth year of his age, still 
able to superintend both his farm and his business, a gentleman of Pu- 
ritan integrity and sentiments, honored by his fellow-citizens as their 
representative thirteen years in the legislature of that state, and by 
many other important civil offices, and a worthy member of the Con- 
gregational Church in that place. 

His paternal ancestors, who were among the first settlers of Lancas- 
ter, performed important military services in the suppression of Shay's 
rebellion ; and in the Indian and Revolutionary wars some of them 
shed their blood on the battle field, and others who survived the 
deadly strife were crowned with laurels for their valor, and rewarded 
by pensions. His grandfather was one out of the seven delegates fiom 
Worcester county in the Massachusetts Convention in 1787, who voted 
for the adoption of the Constitution of the United States. Of these ven- 
erable men, the " Worcester Magazine''^ says, '• Of all the ancient Lan- 
caster families, there is no one that has sustained so many important 
offices as that of the Wilders," a fact which may be ascribed cither to 
their laudable ambition, or to their superior endowments and qualifica- 
tions. 

His paternal grandmother was Mrs. Lucretia Locke Wilder, sister 
of Rev. Samuel Locke, D. D., President of Harvard University. His 
mother. Mrs. Anna Sherwin Wilder, born Dec. 31, 1778, married May 

* See his Memoir by Rev. Dr. Cummings, published by the Americau Tract 
Society; and his works edited by Kev. Prof. Stowe, D.D. 
t By John G. Locke, Esq., pp. 81, 99, 198. 
X Vol. ii.,p. 45. 

33 



514 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

20, 1707, and died Feb. 5, 1851, was a most estimable lady, of good 
native talent, but of nervous temperament, of quick sensibility and con- 
sistent piety, a great admirer of the beautiful in Nature and a lover of 
rural pursuits and of rural life. 

From his boyhood, she was wont, in the proper season, to call him 
into the garden and the orchard to dress and to keep them ; yea, to en- 
courage him in these labors by her enthusiastic co-operation and by the 
nameless arts which a mother's love alone can invent. Little, probably, 
did she then think that she was forming a taste to distinguish his man- 
hood and to direct his life. She was a mother in Israel, an ornament 
to the church in that town, then under the pastoral care of Rev. Seth 
Payson, D. D. She taught her first-born and all her children "The 
Assembly's Catechism," "Watts' Divine and Moral Songs for Chil- 
dren," the forms of prayer and lessons of practical godliness commonly 
used by devoted mothers. 

He was a precocious youth ; and, having acquired at eleven or twelve 
years of age a knowledge of the branches of a common-school educa- 
tion, he was sent to New Ipswich Academy, then under the care of 
Master Taylor. There he was associated with Mr. Miles, late principal 
of the English High School, Boston ; with Rev. Addison Searle, late 
chaplain in United States navy ; with Dr. Augustus A. Gould, Boston; 
and with others who were then starting into " life's long race," who 
run well and won many a valuable prize. 

But his buoyant spirit, his passion for rural life and his restless ac- 
tivity found suitable objects of delight, not in logarithms and dead 
languages, but in angling and hunting, in the pursuits and sports of the 
field. His fondness for these increased his importunity with his parents 
to allow him to return home. Unwilling to abandon their favorite pro- 
ject of giving him a liberal education, they yielded to his persuasion 
on condition that he would still prosecute his studies under a private 
tutor. For a season he continued his preparation for college under 
Rev. Joseph Brown, one of their pastor's theological students. 

But they soon discovered what many parents learn too late to turn 
to the highest account in the nurture and settlement of their children, 
the propriety, yea, the necessity, of ascertaining by their own obser- 
vation and study of their offspring to what pursuit they are best 
adapted, to what their individuality and idiosyncrasy incline them, since 
in this alone will they be most likely to succeed. To satisfy them- 
selves, and to test their son on this point, they submitted to him these 
alternatives — first, to continue his studies, and prepare for one of the 
learned professions ; secondly, to engage in mercantile business with 
his father; or, thirdly, to go on to the farm and follow rural pursuits. 
His inclination and taste led him to choose the latter, and putting on 
his frock, he marched into the field with the workmen, and soon became 
skillful in the use of agricultural implements. 

But he had not been long occupied with these, when the increase of 
his father's mercantile business called him from the farm to the store. 
Here he met with a severe trial ; he was required to enter the store 
like any other boy or young man. as an apprentice, and with the pros- 
pect of promotion as he learned the art of trade. This was a whole- 



MARSHALL P. WILDER, MASSACHUSETTS. 515 

some discipline to his patience and ambition, and produced its desired 
result, strengthening his purpose to be first and foremost in whatever 
he undertook, rousing his energies, and thus enabling him to surmount 
difficulties, bringing him into competition with business men, awakening 
aspirations to rival or excel them, and flashing on his mind the secret 
of success, a conviction that the formation of his character, the acqui- 
sition of a fortune and the attainment of an enduring fame depended 
on himself^ a lesson which never was and never can be thoroughly 
learned by those who rely on parental aid or ancestral wealth or renown. 
Here the Indian maxim contains the true philosophy of life ; if you 
would teach your child to swim, throw him into the water, or if you 
would render him skillful in the chase, put into his hand a bow and 
arrows and tell him where to go in search of game. How many parents 
fail at this point, never calling forth and taxing the native and individual 
talents of their children, nor teaching them self dependence, but always 
allowing them to walk with borrowed crutches. Hence their offspring 
can not face the winds and storms of life, nor beat their way through 
its currents and counter-currents. 

Hence we record this incident as one of the most important of his 
life. Mortifying no doubt it then was to his pride, yet it was the pin 
which let out the air from the bubbles of a boyish fancy, and exploded 
the false and anti-republican theories of distinction by birth and ancestry, 
of inheriting instead of making character, fortune, and fame, and of 
purchasing rather than weaving the web of personal destiny. From 
that moment he began to rise, and his future course has been upward 
and onward. 

Having formed a good character — the best part of a young man's 
capital — obtained a thorough knowledge of trade, and proved himself 
faithful, his father took him into partnership soon after his majority. 
He continued in the firm till early in 1825, transacting a large and 
lucrative business for a country store, and acting as post-master in his 
native town. 

On the 31st of Dec, 1820, he married Miss Tryphosa Jewett, the 
daughter of Dr. Stephen Jewett, of Rindge, N. H. She was the niece 
of Dr. Thomas Jewett, of whose conversion from infidelity to the Chris- 
tian faith, his pastor, the Rev. A. W. Burnham, has given an instructive 
and faithful account, in a tract called " The Infidel Reclaimed."* She 
was an estimable lady, who became the mother of five children,! and 
died suddenly while on a visit among her friends in Rindge. This 
heavy affliction, combined with his native fondness for rural scenery, led 
him to seek retirement from the noise and excitement of city life, and to 
purchase his present residence. 

But before we speak of this, we must advert to his passion for mili- 
tary tactics, deeds, and renown, which had distinguished his ancestors 
for many generations. His military career commenced at eighteen years 
of age, when he became attached to the staff of the tw^elfth regiment 

* See Tract No. 351, by the Am. Tract Society, 
t Book of the Lockes, p. 108. 



516 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS, 

of the New HMmpsbire militia. Three years later he was commissioned 
as adjutant of the same body, an office whicli he resigned at the end of 
llie year to take command of the Rindge Light Infantry, a volunteer 
company in his native town, which he industiiously and perseveringly 
labo! ed to raise, uniform, and equip in the best style of that day and 
place. At the expiration of the second year of service in this oflice, he 
was elected lieutenant-colonel, and the next year colonel. He com- 
manded the regiment but one year, resigning at the age of twenty-tive, 
on account of his removal from Rindcje to Boston, being at the time the 
senior colonel in the brigade, and of course in the line of rapid promo- 
tion toward the highest military honors of that state. In the latter city 
he joined the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, from whose 
anniversary he was not absent for the next quarter of a century. Of 
this hfe-guard of American liberty he continues a member. At its fes- 
tival in Faneuil Hall, June 3d, 1850, he was called to answer to a senti- 
ment in honor of the Massachusetts Legislature, being then President 
of the Senate. He spoke with regret of the recent decline of the mili- 
tary spirit, and of the importance of a wtdl-disciplined citizen soldiery, 
as the ultimate means of sustaining civil authority, suppressing mobs, 
and repelling invasions. He said, in his characteristic style of appro- 
priateness : "I would bid peace societies God-speed ; but I can not be 
unmindful of the fact that Alexander, emperor of Rvissia, manifested at 
one period a lively interest in these societies ; while at the same time he 
maintained a million of bayonets for the preservation of public peace. 
Hence, gentlemen, in return for your compliment to the Legislature of 
this commonwealth, I give you — The Ancient and Honorable Artillery 
Company, for more than two centuries a faithful sentinel at its post ; let 
its countersign ever be ' All's well ;' and on our glorious banner, side by 
side with ' E Plurihus UnumJ and close to the stars and stripes, let us 
inscribe: 'our company and ouii country — live on, live forever!'" 

His military career and his trade in New Hampshire secured for him 
the acquaintance, confidence, and respect of a large number of business 
men and citizens of that state, who, on his removal to Boston became 
his customers, and gave him an extensive business and a desirable rank 
among the merchant princes of that city. He commenced the whole- 
sale West India goods business in Boston in 1825, in the firm of Wilder 
& Payson, Union Street, then of Wilder & Smith, North Market Street, 
which at that time was new and unpaved ; and after four or five years 
in both these connections, he opened on his own account at No. 3 Cen- 
tral Wharf, where he continued the wholesale and importing business 
till 1837, when he became a partner in the commission house of Parker, 
Blanchard h Wilder, Water Street, then of Parker, Wilder &l Parker, 
2 Pearl Street, and at present Parker, Wilder & Co., which is one of 
the largest and most respectable firms in domestic manufactures in that 
tri-mountain city, and which owns and transacts the business of a large 
number of cotton and woolen mills in different parts of New England. 

His mercantile pursuits brought him into connection with various 
monetary institutions in Boston. He has been a director in the Na- 
tional Insurance Company, and in the Hamilton Bank, since their in- 
corporation nearly a quarter of a century ago. Besides, his talents 



MARSHALL P. WILDER, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 517 

for business and financiering have induced many similar institutions, 
railroads, and manufacturing companies to solicit his services, either as 
one of their directors or their president. 

While his family residence was in Boston, he lived successively in 
Leverett and Salem Streets, and in Montgomery Place. But the sud- 
den death of his wife left his dwelling desolate and drear, and induced 
him to seek for himself and family a residence in the country, where 
he could enjoy more retirement, and could indulge his native taste for 
rural life. He purchased and moved into his present dwelling in the 
month of June, 1832. It is the first house on the right side of Wash- 
ington Street, leading directly to the Old South Church, in Dorchester, 
from the main street in Roxbury. It has been much improved by his 
taste and capital. The pleasure grounds about it are well laid out and 
adorned. Its hot and green houses, its gardens and nurseries, rank 
among the best in the country, and the whole, seen from an advantage- 
ous position, presents an appeai'ance beautiful and attractive. 

But we must defer any further account of it until we have noticed 
some additional facts respecting his family ; for the best of men and 
the sweetest homes are imperfect and incomplete without a family. 
On the 29th of August, 1833, Mr. Wilder was married to Miss Abby 
Baker, born Aug. 4th, 1810, the daughter of Captain David and Mrs. 
Jemima Richardson Baker, of Franklin. She is esteemed as a lady of 
intelligence and education, of amiable disposition, of engaging man- 
ners, and consistent piety. Her father was a prominent member of the 
late Dr. Emmons' church and society, and was honored with many 
important offices in that town, a worthy descendant of the Baker family 
that settled originally in Dorchester, and thence migrated to Boston, 
Dedham, and other neighboring towns — a family distinguished for 
general integrity, activity, and perseverance. By her mother, who was 
a lady of superior talents, of remarkable penetration and sensibility, 
of sound judgment and great moral worth, and whose mental endow- 
ments she inherited in a large degree, she is connected with the Law- 
rences and Kichardsons, two of the most numerous and respectable 
families of our Puritan ancestors. She was the third in a family of 
seven children; her eldest brother is Rev. A. R. Baker, of Lynn, 
Mass. She is the mother of seven children,* and though fur some 
years in feeble health, is ardently devoted to the education and welfare 
of her family. 

Mr. Wilder's residence is three and a half miles from Boston, by 
way of Roxbury, and is called Hawthorn Grove. It opens to your 
view as you pass Grove Hall. It stands back from the street, and is 
deeply embowered in grateful and various shades. It is one of the 
loveliest spots in the garden-suburbs of the city. You can take a hasty 
survey if, as you pass directly in front of it on Washington 
Street, you turn to the j'ight and pass up Columbia Street, leaving the 
gardens, outbuildings and nurseries on your right, till you reach the 
elevation near the Brush Hill turnpike; then, wheeling to the right 
and facing the east, it lies in full view before you. The whole presents 

* Cook of the Lockes, p. 198. 



518 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

at once an appearance of order, neatness, and taste — qualities which 
distinguish every part of the scene, and which impress you more ac- 
cording to the minuteness of your observation. 

If you enter his habitation, you find, in addition to the modern con- 
veniences common in the dwellings of other gentlemen of business, a 
well-furnished study, a fruit-room, so constructed as to give him perfect 
control of its temperature, light and humidity, and therefore of the 
ripening of fruits, and a library of rare and valuable works on his 
favorite pursuits. 

To us, we freely confess, it was not a small gratification to go into 
the study and examine the library^ not large but well selected, of one 
of the busiest of the business men of this enterprising age, and to 
witness there abundant proofs of patient thought, of thorough investi- 
gation, and of a well-balanced, active, and vigorous mind ; and in con- 
versation to elicit from him the fact that it is, and has been for many 
years, his habit to rise early and to devote the morning to reading and 
study, to the superintendence of his place, and not unfrequently to 
personal labor with his men in the conservatory, garden, and nursery, 
the middle of the day to his mercantile business in Boston, and the 
evening to his family and his study. 

In this system we discovered the secret of his success, a system 
which he has steadily pursued, early and late, through a long series of 
years, which puts in requisition every energy of body and mind, which 
wisely blends rational gratification with the severity of labor, physical 
and mental, which economizes time and appropriates it to laudable 
pursuits, but which excludes all idleness, dissipation and waste. 

A rapid survey of his place will give his friends and the public some 
idea of his horticultural and agricultural pursuits upon his own domain. 
But to give completeness to their conception, they should consider his 
more public labors, his extensive correspondence with distinguished 
horticulturists and agriculturists in America and in Europe, his con- 
nection with various associations for the improvements of these arts, 
his large annual importation of rare plants and fruit-trees, and the 
numerous conservatories and nurseries which owe their origin in 
a measure to his agency, and which have lately sprung up in this 
vicinity, so rapidly becoming a commonwealth of cities and of gardens. 
Hence we shall complete this sketch, and pursue his history as it is 
naturally divided, into the different departments of his public labors. 

Mr. Wilder's love of nature and of rural pursuits, and his knowledge 
and practice of horticulture, of which we shall soon speak more freely, 
admirably qualified him for a leader in enterprises for the improve- 
ment of agriculture ; for a garden is only a small farm well cultivated 
and adorned. Much had already been done in the commonwealth for 
the advancement of this worthy cause. Before this period, the Mas- 
sachusetts Agricultural Society had introduced many valuable varieties 
of stock from Europe and other parts of the world. In Worcestei'- 
shire, Essex, Middlesex, Berkshire, and some other counties, had been 
organized associations which had exerted a salutary influence in their 
respective districts. 



MARSHALL P. WILDER, OF MASSACUUSETTS. 519 

But since the death of the lamented Pickering, Lowell, Fessenden, 
Coleman, Phinney, and others who distinguished themselves in this 
primeval art, agriculture had not progressed so rapidly in Massachusetts 
as in some other states; indeed, it had not advanced ^^a?-i ^;os6» with 
other arts — with commerce and manufactures. Matei-ials had been 
collected which needed systematizing, associations formed which ougiit 
to be affiliated and united, and results obtained which were preparatory 
to others still more important, that should be developed. For this 
work Mr. Wilder's talents and acquisitions well fitted him. 

His direct efforts in this department commenced with the Norfolk 
Agricultural Society, in the organization of which he took a prominent 
part. He submitted to the convention called to form the association 
in that county a resolution declaring such an organization expedient and 
desirable,* and also penned the original draft of its constitution. He was 
cordially elected its president, and on being conducted to the chair, de- 
livered an appropriate address, from which we can allow space only for 
a short extract, illustrating a corresponding trait in his character : 
" Gentlemen, we need not revert to history to establish the honor and 
dignity of the farmer's vocation ; no, nor to the magnificent hanging 
gardens of Nineveh and Babylon, the relics of which, now excavating, 
excite the admiration and wonder of the literary world, to prove that 
horticulture has been, from the earliest times, the handmaid of agri- 
culture — as Eve to Adam, an ornament and a crown. . . . It is 
what Washington declared it, ' the most healthful, the most useful, the 
most honorable employment of man.'" 

This society, incorporated on the twenty-seventh of the succeeding 
March, held its first annual exhibition in Dedham, on the twenty-sixth 
of the next September, a day memorable in its history. Ten thousand 
of the farmers, mechanics, and manufacturers of the county, with their 
fair wives and daughters, brought the products of their skill and indus- 
try, and assembled to witness and to exhibit the same, and to receive 
instruction and encouragement in their worthy pursuits. 

It devolved on him, the orator of the day, to address this multitude. 
He spoke of the history of agriculture, of its dignity and importance, 
of the application of science thereto, both in the production of fertiliz- 
ers, and in the practice of improved arts of cultivations and of agri- 
cultural education. On tlie last topic he laid out his strength, summing 
up and applying his arguments in these words : "Let our agricultural 
papers and periodicals continue their noble advocacy of this cause ; let 
the pen of the learned write for these and other journals ; let the voice 
of the eloquent plead for it in the halls of legislations, and throughout 
the length and breadth of our land ; let efficient hands and warm hearts 
engage in it, and then the public mind can not slumber; agricultural 
education will advance; our seminaries of learning, from the common 
school to the university, will provide a place for it in their processes of 
instruction ; and w-e shall have among our yeomanry such farmers as the 
world never witnessed — men who will honor their vocation, and therefore 
be honored by society — the chiefs of our land, the glory of our nation. "f 

* Transactions for 1849, p. 7 f Ibid, p. 51. 



520 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

The address occupied an hour and a quarter in delivery, and was 
listened to hy the assembly with interest and approbation. It was the 
key-note of Agricola's song on the occasion, performed by many chief 
masters of the art. By special request it was repeated at the annual 
exhibition of the Bristol County Agricultural Society the next month. 
Many periodicals c()pied and widely circulated it, and from that time 
a new era commenced in the history of American agriculture. The 
interest awakened by the exhibition in Norfolk county was deep and 
general. At his instance, there was present on that occasion his Excel- 
lency Goveinor Briggs, his Honar Lieutenant-Governor Reed, Hon. 
Daniel Webstei-, Hon. Edward Everett, Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, 
Ex-Governor Levi Lincoln, Hon. Isaac Hill, Ex-Governor of New Hamp- 
shire, Hon. Josiah Quincys, Sen. and Jr., General Dearborn, Hon. 
Horace Mann, Hon. Chas. F. Adams, and many other illustrious men, 
thus seconding his exertions by their presence and their eloquence. 

It was truly a delightful scene to behold so many mothers and daugh- 
ters at this exhibition, seated with their husbands and brothers at the festive 
board, hearkening to the successive and appropi-iate sentiments by which 
he called up and introduced to them those chief masters of eloquence, 
and catching with delight the words of wisdom that fell from their lips. 

But the fairest part of this fair was the ladies, then a novelty at the 
festive board of an agricultural society, suggested by Mr. Wilder's ex- 
perience of the benefit of their presence in the festivals of the Massa- 
chusetts Horticultural Society. Kindred associations at once perceived 
the propriety of the measure, and in two years from that time their pres 
ence became o-eneral at such exhibitions and festivals, not only in this 
commonwealth, but also in many other parts of the country and the world. 

The next year, 1850, Mr. Wilder received numerous invitations to 
deliver addresses at the anniversaries of other agricultural societies, but 
declined them with the exception of that from the New Hampshire State 
Agricultural Society, from the agricultural societies of Berkshire and 
of Hampshire counties. 

On each of these occasions he urged most eloquently increased atten- 
tion to this worthy cause, especially to agricultural education. 

In a communication to the government of the Norfolk Society, near 
the close of the year,* he showed, from a comparison of the census of 
1840 with that of 1850, that the agricultural products of this state and 
of New England had depreciated, while many other arts, together with 
wealth and population, had proportionally advanced in the same period. 
He concluded this address to the trustees of that association, with sun- 
dry recommendations, designed to promote their commendable objects. 
One of these contained the orio-inal suo-crestion of a state convention of 
delegates from the various county societies, " to concert measures for 
their mutual advantage." Of this we shall shortly speak. 

He has continued at the head of the Norfolk Society since its forma- 
tion. Its numbers, resources, and usefulness have greatly increased un- 
der his administration. Its location is in Dedham, the shire town of the 
county, where it owns a field amply provided with pens, a building 

* Transactions of that Society for 1850, p. 97-103 



MARSHALL P. WILDER, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 521 

containiiior offices and a hall for its exhibitions. It has not yet completed 
the fifth year of its history, but its influence has been most powerful 
and salutary in all parts of the country, and is most hopeful for the 
future. 

In confirmation of these views, we extract the followini^ paragraph 
from Mr. Wilder's address at its recent exhibition : '"Within the short 
peri'jd of five years, the society has acquired funds to purchase the 
grounds on which its shows have heretofore been held ; has paid for the 
structures and other accommodations for the stock on exhibition, and 
the present year has erected an agricultural hall, a building one hundred 
and thirty feet in length, fifty-five in width, and twenty-eight in height. 
This edifice is pronounced by competent judges firm and durable ; it is 
of good architectural propo: tions and external finish, ;ind contains on the 
lower floor an exhibition room and offices, and on the upper floor a 
spacious dining and audience hall, sufficient to accommodate at its tables 
one thousand persons." 

His prominence at tl.is period among agriculturists, horticulturists, 
manufacturers, and merchants induced the governor of the common- 
Avealth to appoint him chairman of the Massachusetts commissioners for 
the World's Fair, in London, 1850 ; but his numerous engagements pre- 
vented him from attending tha exhibition, yet he faithfully discharged 
the duties of the station. In complimentary return for his services, he 
was appointed a commissioner, solicited to attend, and was present at 
the opening of the Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations, in the 
Crystal P dace in New York city, in 1853. 

We have spnken of Mr. AViider's address on agricultural education at 
the first exhibition of the Norfolk Agricultural Society, as the occasion 
of an increase of interest in that subject. The next winter he was 
elected to the Massacliusetts Senate, and submitted to >the agricultural 
committee of the legislature a variety of suggestions for the improve- 
ment of that noble art ; whereupon they reported a bill wlycji passed 
into a resolve, authorizing the executive to appoint a board of five com- 
missioners, who were to examine the subject more thoroughly, and to 
make their report to the next legislature. Of this commission he was 
appointed chaiiman. Another member thereof was Rev. Edward 
Hitchcock, D. D., President of Amherst College, then in Europe, where 
he visited a large number of agricultural schools and experimental farms, 
and collected a great amount of valuable information, which is contained 
in their report, drawn up jointly by himself and Mr. Wilder. That re- 
port* concludes by recommending the establishment of an agricultural 
school and model farm, an increase of governmental aid to agriculture, a 
provision for the study of this art and science in some of the incorpo- 
rated institutions of the'fbmmonwealth, and the creation of a state de- 
partment of agriculture. 

Simultaneously with this movement, Mr. Wilder issued a circular 
signed by himseff and the presidents of the other agricultural societies 
in the state, calling a convention of agriculturists to meet in the 
capitol, and to deliberate on these and other measures for the advance- 



* See the Report of Jan., 1851. 



522 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

ment of so important an interest. Over this convention, consisting of 
about two hundred members, he was called to preside. He addressed 
the body on these topics, and urged an increase of affinity between the 
local associations represented in it, more concert, union, and reciprocity 
in their action.* 

The convention indorsed the recommendations of the commissioners, 
and, in accordance with his suggestion, organized a voluntary state board 
of agriculture, to consist of three delegates from each of the local agri 
cultural societies in the commonwealth, who should watch over and 
seek to promote the general interests of the cause in Massachusetts. 

He was elected president of this board September 3, 1851 ; and at 
its session January 14, 1852, submitted an elaborate report on agri- 
cultural education, another on the annual exhibition of the Hampshire 
County Agricultural Society, and recommended a national convention 
of cultivators, which should endeavor to do for the agriculture of the 
United States what this board were attempting for that^of Massachu- 
setts.! Of the development of this plan we shall soon speak. 

At the third session of this board, it was resolved to memonalize 
the legislature in furtherance of the objects contemplated in the report 
of the commissioners of the preceding year. The duty was assigjaed to 
Hon. Edward Everett, Mr. Wilder, and others, of drafting and present- 
ing that memorial, which was a document worthy of the noble cause it 
advocated — brief, direct and powerful. J In the most important meas- 
ure it was successful — the creation of an agricultural department in the 
state government,! to consist of the governor, lieutenant-governor, 
and secretary of the commonwealth, of three persons elected by the 
governor and council, and of one delegate chosen by each of the local 
ao'ricultural societies at that time existing within the limits of the state, 
making a board of twenty-one persons who, except the first three that 
were members ex officio, were divided into three equal classes, the 
term of one of which expires annually. 

Of this board the governor was chairman during his term of service. 
One of its first and most important measures was to prescribe the 
duties of its secretary,! and to select a suitable person for that office, in 
both of which Mr. Wilder, as chairman of a committee, acted a prom- 
inent part. This board is now in successful operation, and promises to 
do for agriculture what the board of education has done for the 
educational system of Massachusetts, two of the most important 
interests of the commonwealth, the principal sources of her prosperity, 
wealth, power, and glory. 

We are next to notice the development of Mr. Wilder's suggestion 
respecting a national convention of agriculturists. But we would 
not claim for him the exclusive honor of rais enterprise. The law 
of progress in human society commonly develops, first, the necessity 
for improvement, secondly, a desire and endeavor after it nearly sim- 



* See Proceedings of tlie Associated Agricul. Convention, March 20, 1851. 
t Ibid., pp. 9, 17, 40-48. t l^id-, pp. 83-89 ; 94-96. 

§ See chap. 142, resolves for 1852. 
II See Proceedings of the State Board of Agriculture, 1852, p. 4. 



MARSHALL P. WILDER, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 523 

ultaneously among different individuals and public bodies, then con- 
cert and union, and ultimately success. So it was in the revival of 
letters, in the discovery of America, in the Reformation, and in the 
achievement of our nation's independence. But seldom has this law 
been more beautifully illustrated than in this movement for the advance 
of American auriculture. 

The call for a national convention of agriculturists, drafted by himself, 
and signed by him and ten other presidents of as many state agri- 
cultural organizations, begins thus : " Whereas, the Massachusetts Board 
of Agriculture, at its meeting held in Boston, January 14, 1851, re- 
quested its president to enter into correspondence with the president 
of state and other agricultural associations, on the expediency of calling 
a national agricultural convention ; and whereas, the Pennsylvania State 
Agricultural Society, at its meeting in Harrisburg, on the 20th of the 
same month, and whereas, the Maryland State Agricultural Society, at 
its meeting in Baltimore, on the 4th of February, adopted similar reso- 
lutions, and recommended the formation of a National Agricultural 
Society ; and whereas, the New York, Ohio, and other state societies, 
through their presidents, or by published resolves, have expressed 
similar views in relation to the necessity of a closer bond of union be- 
tween all such institutions throughout our country ; therefore, the under- 
signed, believing from these indications that the time has arrived for a 
confederation of local agricultural societies in the United States, and in 
conformity with a resolution of the Pennsylvania Society, authorizing 
the presidents of the three first-named associations to designate time 
and place, do hereby invite delegations to meet in convention in the 
city of Washington, on the twenty- fourth day of June next, at ten 
o'clock, A. M."* 

The next specifies the objects of the meeting, and in response to this 
call, one hundred and fifty delegates, together with many members of 
Congress, then in session, assembled in the lecture-room of the Smith- 
sonian Institution, and at their organized meeting elected him their 
president. Being conducted to the chair, he addressed the body in his 
cordial, direct, and efficient manner. From his sp/eech, we have room 
for only a short extract : 

" Gentlemen, we are here to advance an art coeval with the existence 
of the human race — an art which employs eighteen millions of our 
population, and four fifths of all the capital in our fair land — an art 
which lies at the very foundation of national and individual prosperity 
and wealth, the basis of commerce, of manufiictures, and of industrial 
pursuits. We are an agricultural people; our habits, our dispositions 
are rural. I rejoice that it is so, and I pray that it may ever continue 
to be so. Our country embraces every variety of soil, and is capable 
of producing most of the products of the torrid and the temperate 
zones; and with a suitable application of science to this art, with a 
wise division of labor, and with proper governmental aid, there is no 
reason why American agricultui'e may not sustain competition with that 
of any other nation of the civilized globe. "| 

* Journal of the U. S. Ag. Soc, vol. i., No. 1, p. 5. f Ibid., p. 7. 



524 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS^ 

This convention contained an amount of talent, wealth, and fame 
seldom associated in the beginning of any one enterprise. It was visited 
by the President of the United States, and by several of the most dis- 
tinguished among the heads of the governmental departments, the am- 
bassadors to the United States from other nations. This convention 
organized the United States Agricultural Society, and elected Mr. 
Wilder its president, and having finished the business for which it met, 
a large number of its members resolved upon a visit to the executive, 
and invited their presiding officer to accompany and introduce them. 
They called on President Fillmore, and the Hon. Daniel Webster, then 
Secretary of State, to each of whom he tendered their congratulations, 
and whose aid he invoked for their association in neat and appropriate 
speeches, to which they responded.* 

At the next meeting of this society, Feb. 2d, 1853, he delivered an 
address on its appropriate objects, and on the means and motives for 
their attainments. He closed with the following just tribute to the 
memory of his lamented and illustrious friend, the Hon. Daniel Web- 
ster. * "The Marshfield former is also numbered with the mightv dead. 
He was a farmer — the son of a farmer, and the noblest production of 
American soil ! His majestic form, his mountain brow, and expressive 
countenance, his deep, yet melodious voice, his whole person, eloquent 
in every step and act, are bi-ight visions on which we delight to dwell. 

"We fondly cherish the remembrance of him, as he appeared in this 
assembly, at the organization of our society ; and of the cordial manner 
in which he saluted the worthy representative of the immortal Wash- 
ington, the 'Farmer of Arlington. 'f We love to thinlc of his subse- 
quent reception of us at his hospitable mansion in that city, and of the 
close of his eloquent address, and especially of his friendly benediction : 
'Brother farmers — I shall remember you, and the occasion which has 
called us together, I invoke for you a safe return to your homes. I 
invoke for you an abundant harvest ; and, if we meet not again in time, 
I trust that hereafter we shall meet in a more congenial clime, and 
under a kindlier sun.' 

"Yes. sainted pati^ot ! there^ in those celestial fields, where the sickle 
of the Great Reaper shall no more cut down the wise and the good, we 
hope at last to meet thee — there^ in those pure realms, where the rain- 
bow never fades, where thy brilliant star shall shine with pure efful- 
gence, and where the high and glorious aspirations of thy soul shall be 
forever realized. "J 

At that meeting, Mr. Wilder reported among the donations which 
he had solicited toward the funds of the society, one of one thousand 
dollars from Hon. Samuel Appleton, of Boston. These, with his ad- 
dress, imparted encouragement and energy to this youthful association, 
at present in successful operation, and destined to exert the most ben- 
eficial influence upon American agriculture. 

The first exhibition, under the auspices of this national society, was 

* Journal of the U. S. Ag. Sec, vol. i., No. 1, pp. 21-23. 

t George Washington P. Custis. 

X President's address at first meeting of U. S. Ag. Soc, p. 11. , 



MARSHALL P. WILDER, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 525 

confined to the equestrian department of its labors, and was held in 
Springfield, Mass., Oct. 19, 20, and 21, 1853, Tlie most extensive and 
libera! arrangements were made for it by gentlemen of tliat city. But 
the response to their call by their fellow-citizens from^all parts of the 
country exceeded their most sanguine expectations. From each of the 
four cardinal points of the compass, streams of human beings, of all 
ranks and pr<jfessions, poured into the town on each day of tlie exhi- 
bition, and even long before its commencement, till the place was filled 
to its utmost capacity ; and great numbers were obliged to seek lodg- 
ings in other towns and cities. The crowd was beyond calculation. 
The grounds for the exhibition contained about twenty acres, with an 
artificial gallery upon one side, with several rows of seats, rising one 
above another, and the whole forming a vast and well-adorned amphi- 
theater, sufficient to accommodate from 10,000 to 20,000 people. 
Within this was the course, upon which, on the last and '-great day" 
of the exhibition, all the horses were presented. At eight o'clock in 
the morning, the booming of cannon announced that the gnnnids were 
opened ; and, at nine o'clock, the ringing of the bells proclaimed the 
commencement of the public services. The scene was most imposing 
and exciting — the vast multitude — " the prancing, wheeling, neighing, 
dancing of "five hundred gallant steeds, all at once in the ring, and all 
mirrored in the moving beams of the bright October sun, formed a 
scene worthy the pen of a Waverley. The celebrated description of 
" the Field of the Cloth of Gold" would be as appropriate to this occasion 
as it was to the scene it so vividly portrays. The procession was led 
off' by the celebrated horses "Cassius M. Clay" and "John Anderson." 
After them came the whole number of steeds. 

" A thousand horse and men to ride — 
"With flowing tail and flying mane — 
A thousand horse, the wild, the free, 
Like waves that follow o'er the sea." 

Every thing about these horses was worthy of study. To the lover 
of this animal — the dilated nostril, the eye of fire, the quick-moving 
ear, the arched neck clothed with thunder, the ffanks, the champing of 
the bits, the mottled skin, the fiery action, gave the true id«^a of the no- 
bility of the horse. But, again, there were other features worthy of at- 
tention. But few of the horses were harnessed properly ; they were 
mostly attached to the slightest, frailest skeleton buggies and gigs by al- 
most literally twine harnesses. The rigging of the horses was not the 
least interesting study, if we except the pride and pleasure displayed by 
their owners. After passing round the ring twice, the procession broke 
up; and the ceremonies were continued by the exhibition of ponies — 
thorough breeds — and studs. Of these there were many excellent 
specimens. 

Over this assemblage and scene, Mr. Wilder, in behalf of the U. S. 
Agricultural Society presided ; as he did also at the banquet, at which 
the elite of the country and persons of all classes were present. At the 
table he delivered a speech, from which we make a brief quotation. 

"Friends and fellow-citizens: I congratulate you upon the presence 
of our honored guests, of gentlemen distinguished in the various d - 



526 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS, 

partments of politics, literature, science, and religion, who have as- 
sembled to encourage, by their presence, approbation, and speeches, the 
worthy cause which we seek to advance, I congratulate you, also, on 
the increasing zeal exhibited throughout our country by the various 
local agricultural associations, which are laboring with laudable ambi- 
tion to promote this world-renowned art — on the improved systems of 
cultivation, and the relief which genius has brought to labor by the in- 
vention of new and far-famed implements of modern culture. 

"I observe favorable omens in the general appreciation and patronage 
of our county, state, and national societies harmoniously and syste- 
matically co-operating in this worthy cause, and in the great interest 
manifested in this and other annual exhibitions; these gala-days of the 
farmer, where party strife and sectional jealousy are exchanged for 
friendly salutations and the kindlier amenities of life; and where all 
meet upon the common ground of good citizenship to exalt and improve 
the primeval and noblest employment of man, 

"In the annual exhibition of these societies we are presented with such 
a variety of the products of industry, taste, and genius, that we find it 
quite difficult to take the whole in at one view, and to do justice to 
every part. But, on the present occasion, we have been relieved from 
this difficulty, and our attention has been concentrated upon one de- 
partment, a particular species of domestic animals — upon the horse, 
whose docility, beauty, and usefulness have been admired by the suc- 
cessive generations of mankind — whose kindness, strength, and valor 
have been celebrated in prose and verse, in history and in holy writ. 
How truly and beautifully inspiration describes him on the tented field. 
'His neck is clothed with thunder, the glory of his nostrils is terrible. 
He paweth in the valley and rejoiceth in his strength. He goeth to 
meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear and is not aflrighted, neither 
turneth he back from the sword. He swalloweth the ground with 
fierceness and rage. He saith among the trumpets, Ha ! ha ! and he 
smelleth the battle afar off.'" 

Several thousand dollars were awarded in premiums ; and the whole 
occasion was one of novelty, of lively interest, and of generous pride to 
American agriculturists,* 

But the chief celebrity of Mr, Wilder is in the department o^ Horti- 
culture. In the early history of the Massachusetts Horticultural So- 
ciety he is honorably associated with the lamented Henry A. S, Dear- 
born, Elias Phinney, Henry Coleman, Thomas G. Fessenden, John 
Lowell, Robert INIanning, Samuel G. Perkins, Alexander H, Everett, 
Joseph Story, Daniel Webster, and with others still living, whose names 
will ever be held in grateful remembrance. f But it was some time 
before an event occurred which evinced his foresight and practical skill. 

Before we speak of it, we must describe the origin of Mount Auburn 
Cemetery, with the separation of which from the Massachusetts Horti- 
cultural Society the event to which we refer was connected. The 

* See Journal of the United States Agricultural Society. 
t Transactions of Mass. Ilort. See. for 1829, p. 43. 



MARSHALL P. WILDER, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 527 

original object of the latter of these associations was the promotion of 
horticulture. This early developed the necessity for public exhibitions, 
and also for an cxperimenlal garden. To whomsoever the honor should 
be accorded of originally suggesting the idea of associating a rural 
cemetery with such a garden, it is certain that General Dearborn, and 
others interested in the object, had visited the cemetery of Pere La 
Chaise, in the environs of Paris, and that many, among whom George 
W. Brimmer and Dr. Jacob Bigelow were conspicuous, had frequently 
spoken of the desirableness of a similar resting-place for the dead in 
the vicinity of Boston. But the subject was formally and distinctly 
brought before the public by Zebedee Cook, Jr., Esq., Vice-President, 
in his annual address before the Massachussetts Horticultural Society, 
September 10, 1830.* He said : " I would render such cemeteries more 
alluring, more familiar and imposing, by the aid of rural embellishments. 
The skill and taste of the architect should be exerted in the construction 
of the requisite departments and avenues, and appropriate trees and 
plants should decorate its borders; the weeping willow, waving its 
graceful drapeiy over the monumental marble, and the somber foliage 
of the cypress should shade it, and the undying daisy should mingle 
its bright and glowing tints with the native laurels of our forests."f 
The next year Mount Auburn was selected as a spot suitable for an 
experimental garden and rural cemetery. It was purchased, laid out, 
consecrated, and the sale of lots commenced. J 

But the proprietors of these were not cle facto members of the asso- 
ciation, and in 1835 expressed a desire for a separation of the cemetery 
from the horticultural society. At Mr. Wilder's instance, a com- 
mittee representing each of these interests was appointed, to mature 
a plan and agree on the conditions of dismemberment. This body, 
of which Judge Story was chairman, acting for the proprietors of the 
cemetery, as Mr. Wilder and his associate, Hon. Elijah Vose, did for 
the members of the horticultural society, made many unsuccessful 
attempts at agreement, till the Judge, despairing of a union, arose and 
left the room. That was a critical moment for both institutions. Mr. 
W, saw the exposure, and following the Judge besought him to return, 
at the same time pledging him the most cordial co-operation in a new 
proposition for a settlement. They returned, and having resumed their 
seats, the subject of tliis sketch submitted a resolution, providing that 
one fourth part of the gross proceeds from the annual sale of lots, after 
deducting certain expenses, should be paid year by year by the pro- 
prietors to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, in consideration of 
its relinquishing its right and title to the same.§ This resolution pre- 
vailed, and became the basis of the separation of these two interests — 
a transaction in the highest degree beneficial to both — enabling the pro- 
prietors of Mount Auburn Cemetery to prosecute their world- renowned 
object with more singleness of purpose and with greater success, and 

* Transactions for 1830, p. 27 ; also for 1832, p. 60. 
t Transactions of Mass. Hort. Soc. for 1830, p. 28. 
X Ihid., for 1831, pp. 46, 60, 84. 
I Ibid., 1847, p. 80. 



528 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

also placing at the disposal of the horticultural society a considerable 
portion of the funds for the erection of its beautiful hall in School 
Street. Boston, and an income, both annual and perpetual, which the 
present year amounts to about seven thousand dollars. 

At its eleventh annual meeting, September, 1840, Mr. Wilder was 
elected its fourth president, and the growth and prosperity of that associ- 
ation, under his administration, called for the erection of that beautiful 
edifice, containing, in addition to a large store, a hall for the weekly 
exhibitions of the society, and apartments for the library and the peri 
odical meetings of its government. He was chairman of its building 
committee, and presided at the laying of its corner-stone, and also at 
the dedication of the building, delivering on each occasion appropriate 
speeches. '■'' 

At this period the annual exhibition and triennial festivals of this 
society assumed the first rank among gala-days in Massachusetts, as- 
sembling not only the most distinguished horticulturists in the common- 
wealth and the country, but also persons of all professions, for the im- 
provement and gratification of their taste. These exhibitions usually 
continued three successive days, closing triennially with a festival in the 
"Old Cradle of Liberty." 

On these occasions the interior of Fanueil Hall was decorated and 
arranged in the most appropriate manner. Let us examine this pal- 
ladium of liberty, and behold it converted into the temple of Flora and 
Pomona, that we may witness the subject of our story in his element. 
From the east Ave enter this hall of sacred mgiiory where he is presid- 
ing at the seventeenth anniversary of the society, and the enchanting 
scene bursts upon us in a moment ; hundreds of ladies and gentlemen, the 
elite of city and country, seated at thirteen tables extending longitudinally 
through the room, and crowned with flowers and fruits in variety and 
abundance, and with the luxuries of every clime — on the platfoim at 
the opposite end, the honored guests, Daniel Webster, Josiah Quincy, 
Robert C. Winthrop, Caleb Cushing, A. J. Downing, also delegates from 
other states, and persons of illustrious deeds and of fair fame, together 
wifcli members of his family, the widow of Alexander Hamilton, and 
his own beloved pastor, Rev. Dr. Codman. Above the portraits 
on the wall, we recoo-nize one of the immortal Washington in full 
length and uniform, with his noble steed beside him ; the pillars are 
twined, festooned, and decorated with foliage and flowers, the panels on 
the front of the galleries bear in corre.>punding characters the names 
of the most distinguished botanists and cultivators of our country and 
of other lands. 

At this moment a distino-uished fjuest is announced, whom the com- 
pany rise to receive, and who, being conducted to the rostrum and m- 
troduced to the president, he thus introduces to the audience. "La- 
dies and gcijtiemen, it is with feelings of high gratification that I am 
enabled to present to you a distinguished member of our association, 
who, after an absence of several years of honorable service at the Court 
of St. James, has this day arrived on the shores of his own New Eng- 

* Transactions for 1845. 



MARSHALL P. WILDER, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 529 

land. I introduce to your cordical greeting His Excellency Edward 
Everett." After many cheers of AVBlcome, order is restored ; the bless- 
ing of heaven is invoked, and the festivities commence. 

When sharpened appetite has relieved her desires, the feast of reason 
and the flow of soul begin ; eloquence displays her fireworks, and music 
enlivens the scene. With the ease and dignity which well qualify him 
to preside on such occasions, Mr. Wilder rises, and with a voice clear 
and far-reuching, welcomes the guests and congratulates the society on 
its past success and present prosperity. He introduces the successive 
speakers with appropriate remarks and sentiments, wliich wiih their 
responses are reported in the third volume of the society's transactions,* 
and in other horticultural journals in America and Europe. 

At the next triennial festival of this society, Mr. Wilder announced 
his determination to retire from the presidency, an office which he had 
filled with honor to himself and with profit to the association for eight suc- 
cessive years, a period during wliich the number of its members, the 
amount of its funds, its general influence, usefulness, and renown had 
greatl}- increased. 

On retiring fiom that office, the society, in addition to all their pre- 
vious testimonials of gratitude fur his services, passed votes thanking 
him for his labors in their behalf, and awarding him a valuable and ele- 
gant piece of plate. In the note communicating the same, they say : 
"And now, sir, in compliance with the above resolutions, we present for 
your acceptance a silver pitcher, which we request you to receive as a 
token of esteem for the zeal and success with which you have served in 
the cause of horticulture and of floriculture while a member of the 
society, and more particularly while acting as president during a term 
of eight years."f 

In the same period he did much to promote pomology, by large an- 
nual importations of fruit-trees from the principal nurseries in France, 
Belgium, and other places in Europe, proving them in his own grounds, 
and selling them at moderate prices for the encouragement of American 
fruit-growers. By his extensive foreign correspondence and these large 
importaiions, he has obtained one of the best and most extensive nur- 
series of the pear which can be found. His camellia-house is thought to 
contain the best collection of this plant in America, one that will favor- 
ably compare with any in transatlantic countries. Of his varieties of this 
royal flower, some description has already been given to the public. J 
He has many hundreds of varieties, thousands of plants, and more than 
one thousand seedlings, which he has secui-ed by hybridization, an 
art of which he has given a faithful account as it is practiced at his green- 
house. § Of two of these, named by the Massachusetts Horticultural 
Society in honor of their producer. Camellia Wildcrii and Camellia 
Mrs. Abbi/ Wilder, elegant colored plates may be found in the volumes 
of that association, both of Avliich he sold in 184ti to Mr. J. L. L. F. 

* Trans, for 1845, pages 94-148. 
t Proceedings for 1849, pages 116-120. 
j Hovey's Magazine of Horticulture, vol. vi. 

§ Proceedings of Massachusetts Horticultural Society, vol. i., page 85. 

34 



530 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Warren for one thousand dollars, who afterward made large sales of 
them at high prices in Europe. They i-ank to this lime among the finest 
specimens of this queen of flowers, and no conservatory can now be con- 
sidered perfectly furnished without them. 

In his nursuries, the pear occupies a place corresponding with that of 
the camellia in his green-houses. Of this fruit, he presents at the 
annual exhibitions of the society from three hundred to four hundred 
varieties; and he has from eight hundred to a thousand varieties under 
cultivation. For several years he received the first premium of that 
body for the largest and best collection of this fruit. His art of pre- 
serving it is remarkable, by which he has kept varieties that usually 
ripen in the autumn till spring, and those which commonly ripen in the 
winter till a second crop has been gathered. This interesting process 
he described, by request, at the ninth meeting of the legislative agri- 
cultural association, March 16, 1852. It was fully reported in the 
New England Farmer * and other periodicals of that date, and widely cir- 
culated. It will well reward any pomologist who shall carefully study it. 

We have noticed his resignation of the presidency of the Massachu- 
setts Horticultural Society, a measure which he adopted principally on 
account of his interest in a national organization of a similar nature and 
object. In July of that year (1848), he drew up a circular, signed by 
himself and other distinguished horticulturists in the United States, 
and calling a national convention of fruit-growers in the city of New 
York on the 10th of the succeeding October, " to compare fruits from 
various sources and localities, with a view of arriving at correct con- 
clusions as to their merits, and to settle doubtful points respecting 
them — to assist in determining the synonyms by which the same 
fruit is known in different parts of the country — to compare opinions 
respecting the value of the numerous varieties already in cultivation, 
and to endeavor to abridge by general consent the long catalogue of 
indifferent or worthless sorts propagated by nurserymen and fruit- 
growers — to elicit and disseminate pomological information, and to 
maintain a cordial spirit of intercourse among horticulturists."! 

Mr. Wilder, his friend Andrew J. Downing, and other associates of 
kindred taste and pursuits, had long deemed the accomplishment of 
these objects essential to the progress of American pomology. Of 
these gentlemen, Mr, W. was unanimously called to preside over 
the convention, and Mr. Downing was appointed chairman of its gen- 
eral fruit committee. This convention jDartook largely of the energy, 
promptness and perseverance of its presiding officer, and during the 
three days of its sessions accomplished a great amount of business, and 
projected still more. It took the name of the "National Congress of 
Fruit-growers," and at the close of its meeting passed votes of thanks 
to the Hon. James Tallmadge " for his valuable services in its organi- 
zation," to the American Institute for the use of their hall, to the sec- 
retaries and to the president "for the satisfactory and impartial man- 
ner in which the arduous duties of the chair had been performed." 

* Vol. iv.,p. 193. 

t Proceedings of National Convention of Fruit-growers for 1848, p. 6. 



MARSHALL P. WILDER, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 531 

Without opposition, another meeting of pomologists was held at 
nearly the same time, in Bufftilo, in connection with the New York 
State Agricultural Society's annual exhibition, and also organized 
"the National Pomological Convention," an association having similar 
objects and designed for perpetuity. It was at once perceived that 
both societies could not operate harmoniously and successfully in the 
same field without a union into one body, a result which Mr. Wilder 
labored assiduously to attain. 

At length it was arranged that a committee of the Pomological 
Convention should be present at the meeting of the congress in New 
York, October, 1849, with power to agree with the latter, or with a 
committee of the same on the terms of their consolidation. For this pur- 
pose the Congress appointed a committee of six, corresponding in 
number with that of the convention ; and of these two committees 
Mr. Wilder was appointed chairman, and subsequently reported the 
following terms of union : 

'■'■First. That the two conventions, hitherto known as the North 
American Pomological Convention and the American Congress of 
Fruit-growers, be hereby consolidated. 

" Secondly. That the consolidated association shall hereafter be 
known as the American Pomological Congress. 

" Thirdly. That the next session of the Pomological Congress shall 
be at Cincinnati, Ohio, in the autumn of 1850 ; and that the time 
thereof be fixed by the president of this congress, in conjunction with 
the president of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture ; and that notice 
of such meeting be given to all Agricultural, Horticultural, and Pom- 
ological societies throughout the country. 

" And, Fourthly. That meetings of this congress, after the next ses- 
sion, shall take place biennially; and that the meeting for 1852 shall 
be held at Philadelphia."* 

These two bodies, being united in a most cordial manner, attended 
to the appropriate business of the congress, revising its fruit list, one 
of the most valuable pomological documents in the English language, 
which should be in the hand of every nurseryman and fruit-grower, 
in the country. In its proceedings Mr. Wilder took a leading part. 
Before-the adjournment of the congress, the usual votes were passed 
complimentary to him and its other officers. 

His presidency constitutionally expired at the next annual meeting 
of this association in Cincinnati, Oct., 1850, and, not being present, his 
esteemed friend, Dr. W. D. Brinkle, of Philadelphia, was chosen his 
successor, who resigned it at the close of his biennial term, Sept., 1852, 
when Mr. Wilder was re-elected, and acknowledged the honor in an 
appropriate manner. 

Just before his re-election, an event occurred, most afflicting to its 
members and to many thousands of their countrymen, the death of A. 
J. Downing, Esq., one of the victims who perished by the conflagration 
of the steamer " Henry Clay^'' on the Hudson River, July 28th, a prince 
among rural architects, pomologists, and landscape gardeners, whose 

* Proceedings of the Second Congress of Fruit-growers, p. 20. 



532 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

publications are an ornament to our literature, and whose labors have 
advanced these and other arts. The government of this society and of 
kindred associations deemed it unsuitable that the death of so distin- 
guished a member should be suffered to pass without an appropriate 
notice and eulojjv. 

Between Mr. Wilder and Mr. Downing there subsisted the most 
cordial and mature fiiendship ; they had been long and intimately 
united in kindred pursuits. This lamented gentleman had dedicated 
to him his " Fruit and Fruit-trees of America," a work which had passed 
through many editions both in America and England, and had associ- 
ated their names together in the public mind. 

Hence he was solicited to perform this service at the meeting of the 
congress, in Philadelphia, Sept., 1852. He accepted the trust; and his 
eulogy on that occasion has been read and admired by thousands, and 
ranks among the first class of elegiac compositions. Our limits will 
not admit more than a single extract, which we select not only on ac- 
count of the force of its diction, the beauty of its style, and the justness 
of its sentiments, but also in illustration of what appears to us a prom- 
inent trait in its author's character, hopefulness, or a tendency to dwell 
in the sunlight more than in the shade, to observe the bright points of a 
somber picture, and to extract the sweetest ingredients from every cup 
of bittei'ness. 

"But Downing has gone! His seat in this congress is vacant! 
Another will make the report which was expected from him ! We shall 
much miss his wise and leading counsels in our deliberations and dis- 
cussions, his prompt and energetic action in our endeavors to advance 
the worthy objects of this association, in the origiu and progress of 
which his energy was so conspicuous. He has gone ! He is numbered 
•with those patrons and promoters of the ornamental and useful arts 
who rest from their labors — with the erudite and sajje Pickering, the 
Wise and laborious Buel, the ardent and scientific Mease, the humorous 
and poetic Fessenden, the practical and enterprising Lowell, the taste- 
ful and enthusiastic Dearborn, the indefatigable and versatile Skinner, 
the scientific and voluminous Loudon, and others of noble designs and 
of enduring fame. These have fallen around us like the leaves of au- 
tumn; and Providence now calls us to inscribe on that star-spangled 
roll the cherished name of Downing, struck down suddenly, when his 
sun was at the zenith of its glory. 

"He rests in the bosom of his mother earth, in the city of his birth 
and in the sepulcher of his fathers, on the banks of that beautiful river 
where his boyhood sported, and where the choicest scenery inspired his 
opening mind with the love of nature — a spot which will be dear to the 
thousands of his admirers, and which our love to him will constrain us 
to visit. We may resort to his hospitable mansion ; but he will no 
longer greet us with his cordial salutation, nor extend to us the right 
hand of fellowship. We may wend our way through his beautiful 
grounds ; but he will not be there to accompany us. Instead of his 
pleasant and instructive voice, which once dropped words of wisdom 
and delight on our ear, we shall hear the trees mournfully sighing in 
the breezes — the cypress moaning his funeral dirge, and the willow 



MARSHALL P. WILDER, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 533 

weeping in responsive grief, ' because he is not.' ' His mortal has put 
on immortality.' 

" When we think of the place which he occupied in the hearts of his 
countrymen and cotemporaries — of the expanding interest which he 
has awakened in the rural arts, the refinements and comforts of society — 
of his plans, which others, inspired by his genius, will unfold and con- 
summate — and of his works, which will be admired when the tongues 
that now praise him shall be silent in death, our sense of justice ac- 
cords to him an earthly immortality — a fame which history will cherish, 
art adorn, and grateful posterity revere. 

"He is dead; yet how little of such men can perish ! The clayey 
tenement may indeed fall and crumble, but to him who dwelt in it a 
place is assigned in the firmament of American genius, far above the 
storms and convulsions of earth — ' in that clear upper sky,' where he 
shall shine forever to illumine the path of intelligence, enterprise, and 
virtue, and henceforth to enkindle in the human mind a love of order, 
taste, and beauty. We rank him with those who start improvements 
which advance ages after they are dead, and who are justly entitled to 
the consideration and gratitude of mankind. Washington and his il- 
lustrious associates are dead ; but the liberty which they achieved still 
lives, and marches in triumph and glory through the earth. Franklin 
is dead ! but the spark which his miraculous wand drew from heaven, 
speaks with tongues of fire and electrifies the globe. Fulton is dead ! 
but he awoke the spirit of invention which turns the machinery of man ; 
aye, and he awoke also the genius of navigation : 

" ' And, Heaven-inspired, 
To love of useful glory roused mankind, 
And in unbounded commerce mixed the world.' 

" Downing also is dead ! but the principles of artistib propriety and 
ornament, of rural economy and domestic comfort which he revealed, 
await a more full and perfect development ; and as they advance to- 
ward their glorious consummation, grateful millions will honor and 
cherish his name. His memory shall live forever."* 

At the close of the session, General Patterson submitted a resolution 
which the minutes report to have been " most enthusiastically received 
and agreed to," tendering " the thanks of this association to the Hon. 
M. P. Wilder, for the impartial and dignified manner in which he pre- 
sided over their deliberations, and for his able and eloquent eulogy on 
their lamented colleague." To this he responded in a short and appro- 
priate speech, which was received with marked applause.f 

We have now sketched his early life and his domestic relations, and 
spoken of him as a merchant and an officer in the militia, as an agri- 
culturist and a horticulturist. In his rural i-etreat, we have noticed him 
as an affectionate husband and father, and as the center of a large circle 
of attached friends and fellow-citizens. In his principaly^business, we 
left him among the merchant-princes of Boston ; and in his secondary 
and tasteful pursuits, as president of the Norfolk County Agricultural 

* Proceedings of the Am. Pomological Congress, 1852. f Ibid. p. 49 



534 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Society, located in Dedham, of the United States Agricultural Society, 
located in Washington, and of the American Pomological Congress, 
holding its meetings biennially in the chief cities of our beloved land. 

We shall conclude this article with some account of his political 
career, of his moral and religious character, with a few extracts showing 
the various estimates which others have formed of his character and 
services, and with a brief notice of the most prominent and important 
lessons which this narrative suggests. 

Mr. Wilder inherited a large share of patriotism from his ancestors, 
and though not in the offensive sense of the word a partisan, yet he 
always formed his own enlightened judgment on all questions of state 
and national polity, and then acted in harmony therewith. His speeches 
and life evince the most ardent love to his country, to her institutions 
and citizens. We quote, in illustration of this remark, the concluding 
paragraphs in his address to the Agricultural Society of New Hamp- 
shire, his native state. 

" When I consider my country's vast extent of territory, her agri- 
cultural resources, her thriving arts and manufactures, her rapid growth 
in intelligence, wealth, and power, the hundred millions of human beings 
who will inhabit her at the close of the present century — when I con- 
trast all these with the condition of the few feeble colonists who at first 
settled on our soil, I can but exclaim, ' Truly this work is marvelous 
in our eyes ; a little one has become a thousand, and a small one a 
great nation!' On her depends the destiny of the world — responsible, 
glorious trust! If any angel fallen from heaven ever presents to her 
the apple of discord, and invites her to eat that forbidden fruit, may 
she respond way.'' nay!! I have in charge life, the life of millions ! 
My country, let the eagle of thy liberty, which so lately stood upon 
the cleft of thine Atlantic coast, but which stands to-day upon the lofty 
height of thy rocky mounts, stretch her broad wings from shore to 
shore, and continue to shelter the happy millions of thy sons ! And 
from those wings, year by year, may her young eaglets fly to other 
lands, till the reign of universal freedom shall introduce a universal ju- 
bilee ! My country ! my country ! ! glorious prospects are before thee ! 
Union, wealth, and power; intelligence, virtue, and immortal renown. 

Fit sentiments to herald the great expounder of the constitution — 
the favorite not only of New Hampshire, but also, now when he is no 
more, of the whole country — Daniel Webster, who was with him on the 
platform on that memorable occasion, and who, at the conclusion of this 
speech, followed him in a kindred strain of eloquence. These addresses, 
by two sons of New Hampshire, will not soon be forgotten by the 
thousands who heard them. 

But on other occasions we find these two brothers of the Granite 
State most intimately associated. In the autumn of 1849, many en- 
terprising geiitlemen, originally from that state, but then dwelling in 
Boston and its vicinity, formed an association called "The Sons of New 
Hampshire," of which the Hon. Daniel Webster was elected president, 
and Mr. Wilder the first vice-president. This society held a festival 
in the spacious hall over the Fitchburg dep6t in this city, Nov. 7, 1849, 



MARSHALL P, WILDER, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 535 

■when and vvhei-e about fourteen hundred were present. On this occa- 
sion, the great expounder and defender of the constitution presided, 
and at the opening of the banquet delivered an address worthy of his 
illustrious name. By his first sentiment he called up Judge Woodbury 
to speak in behalf of the state of their nativity; and by the second, 
the subject of our narrative, then a member of the executive council 
of the commonwealth, to render a just tribute to the state of their 
adoption. A paragraph from his speech will illustrate his response and 
his patriotism. 

"I am happy, Mr. President, to acknowledge the compliment paid 
to the state of our adoption, and respond the more readily to the call, 
because I have here passed half of my life, and also because I was born 
but just over the line which divides Massachusetts from New Hamp- 
shire. Much as I love the latter, and the place where my eyes first 
saw the light of heaven ; much as I believe in early education, and that 
*just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined,' yet I can not tell to which 
I am more indebted — to the one that rocked my cradle, or to the other 
which has blessed and prospered my maiihood. Standing here, a son 
of New Hampshire, I think, in passing, I ought to drop a word of filial 
regard for her; but if she needs any commendation, what can be said 
more in her praise than to call her the mother of such a large family 
of intelligent sons as I see around me 1 

" It is said, Mr. President, that her soil is rough and rocky, that her 
climate is cold and uncongenial, and that her productions are granite 
and ice. In part, the truth of these remarks is admitted ; but there is 
one product of which she has raised a large crop, in common with old 
Massachusetts — a crop which has found a ready market abroad — and 
if she may be judged by the representation she sends, in our guests, 
on this occasion, her store is not yet exhausted. 

" She has raised men — great men — and had she performed no other 
service, this alone were sufficient to associate her name with Sparta and 
Athens, in the history of mankind. Her Stark, to whom you have so 
happily alluded, Mr. President, was a modern Leonidas ; and, among 
her orators, no one would hesitate to point out a Demosthenes." 
[Enthusiastic applause.]'* 

In the course of the evening the president, on leaving the chair, called 
Mr. Wilder to it, who complimented him in the following sentiment : 

^'' The President of the Day ! It required the united wisdom of the 
confederacy to frame the constitution. It was reserved for our native 
state to furnish its ablest expounder and defender."! 

This association resolved to hold a second festival in the autumn of 
1852; but on Sabbath morning, Oct. 24, of that year, its worthy presi- 
dent expired in his family mansion at Marshtield, and out of respect to 
his memory the government of the society deferred the contemplated 
festival one year. Many members of this fraternity attended his 
funeral on the succeeding Friday. And most of them joined the pro- 
cession, and united in celebrating his obsequies in Boston on the 30th 
of the succeeding month. In the proceedings on the latter occasion, the 

* See Festival of the Sons of N. H., Nov. 7, 1849, p. 34. t Ibid., p. 77. 



536 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

Sons of New Hampshire invited the members of the legislature and the 
executive of their native state to join, who accepted their invitation, 
and who were met by them, with Mr. Wilder at their head, at the 
depot in Boston. A few words from his address on receiving them 
will show his estimation of his deceased friend. 

"A mighty one has fallen! Our elder brother, New Hampshire's 
favorite son, is no more! All that was mortal of Daniel Webster, the 
great American expounder of constitutional authority and national 
rights, has been consigned to the bosom of his mother earth. 

"The loss to us, to the country and the world, is irreparable. The 
whole nation mourns. Our city is hung in the drapery of woe, and 
' the mourners go about the streets.' 

" Daniel Webster is dead ! We shall see his majestic form no more ! 
But his fame is immortal ! It is registered on the hearts of his grateful 
countrymen. Yes, and it shall be transmitted unsullied and untarnished 
through all coming ages; and when the monumental marble shall have 
crumbled into dust, it shall '■still live!'' It shall live forever!"* 

Mr. Wilder and the Sons of New Hampshire next conducted the 
brethren from their native state to the Capitol, and he there introduced 
them to his Excellency the Governor of Massachusetts, where mutual 
salutations and sympathies were interchanged. 

At a meeting of this society in the month of October, 1853, in Bos- 
ton, Mr. Wilder was unanimously chosen to succeed Mr, Webster in 
its presidency, and acknowledged the honor in a speech of which we 
can give our readers but one short extract. 

"The occasion which has called us together is of no ordinary import- 
ance, since it has for its object the renewing and cementing of past 
friendships, and the transmission to posterity of hallowed associations 
in relation to the land which gave us birth, and from which w^e started 
into life's long race. 

" I congratulate you upon the presence of this large assembly of the 
brethren who have come up here to honor the old Granite State, and 
to sustain the reputation of her sons. For my own part, I think that 
we may take a pride in all that relates to her welfare and renown. 
And dear to me as are all her sons, her hills and valleys, yea, the very 
stones of her mountains, my heart will never cease to rise in praise and 
thanksgiving to the Giver of all good for the immaculate mind of 
Webster — a mind towering like the heaven-piercing summits of his 
native hills — but unlike them, never clouded. His intellect shone clear 
as the blue ethereal of the upper sky." 

This association held another festival in Boston on the second day of 
November, 

A more imposing body of men were never seen in the streets of the 
capital of New England. The procession was subdivided into coun- 
ties, and rallied under a banner that bore the name of each county. 

One of the papers of the day thus sums up the general appearance 
of the exhibition : 

* Webster Memorial, pp. 220, 221. 



MARSHALL P. WILDER, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 537 

The procession formed at the State House, and began to move at 
half-past three o'clock, attended by two bands of music. The grand 
column contained from fifteen hnndred to two thousand men, who made 
a most noble representation of the noblest production of the good old 
Granite State. 

The scene, as the vast body marched into the hall, was quite im- 
posing. The walls studded with home illustrations, fomiliar to the eye 
of every native, and draped with the flags of all nations — the long 
tables spread with rich viands — the patriotic music from the bands, 
and the presence of many distinguished men from New Hampshire 
and her sister states — all told that the occasion was one of the highest 
interest and enjoyment to the united throng. 

When the repast was finished, Mr. Wilder delivered a highly ornate 
and effective speech. After a cordial welcome of those present, and 
references to the history of their native state and of her many distin- 
guished sons, he spoke as follows : 

" We rejoice in the original rank of New Hampshire in the great 
American brotherhood, and in the evidence that her sons, scattered 
through the vv^orld, still swell the tide of her renown. 

" We, of Massachusetts, honor the state of our adoption, and will 
yield to none in our efforts and desires for her welfiire and fame; but 
seeing that others glory in their nativity we will glory also, and on 
this occasion may be allowed to record the singular fact, that of all the 
candidates for the chief magistracy of this republic, presented to the 
respective national conventions previous to the late political campaign, 
a large majority were sons of New Hampshire. There was the great 
expounder of constitutional authority and national rights, too much the 
property of the entire world to be appropriated by any one nation 
under heaven [sensation] ; there was Lewis Cass [cheers], the great 
champion of democracy, virtue, and religion: there were Salmon P. 
Chase and Daniel S. Dickenson [applause], of enviable and untar- 
nished fame; and there, too, was John P. Hale [applause], the very 
embodiment and incarnation of human freedom ; and last in the enu- 
meration, but first in the presidential course, there was New Hamp- 
shire's favored son, Franklin Pierce [loud applause], the man of the 
people's choice, the man who now occupies the highest station in the 
gift of the world. [Renewed and long-continued cheering.]" 

Among the just tributes which Mr. Wilder rendered to the illus- 
trious and departed sons of New Hampshire are the following to Levi 
Woodbury and Daniel Webster : 

"Would we could stop here! Still others must be added. But not 
to enlarge in respect to those in our native state, and more remotely 
connected with our first festival, who have also gone to their rest, we 
have to mourn the loss of two distinguished sons then present, who 
will never be forgotten ! Levi Woodbury, who entered early into 
public life, and whose eminent services in both New Hampshire and 
Massachusetts, and in the councils and judiciary of the nation, have 
won for him imperishable fame. And lasi, not least, Daniel Web- 
ster, whose official relation to this body demands a grateful tribute 
to his memory. His surpassing eloquence on that memorable night 



538 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

will ever remain among the choicest treasures of our memories. Who 
of us can ever forget the manner in which he stood up on this spot, the 
great champion of universal freedom, and before the civilized world 
exhorted the Kussian autocrat to respect the law of nations, and warn- 
ing him if he did not, in the following emphatic and terrible language : 
' There is something on earth greater than arbitrary or despotic power. 
The lightning has its power, and the whirlwind has its power, and the 
earthquake has its power ; but there is something among men more 
capable of shaking despotic thrones than lightning, whirlwind, or earth- 
quake — that is the excited and aroused indignation of the whole civil- 
ized world !' [Prolonged cheering.] 

" The voice that pronounced this anathema is silent ; but the senti- 
ments which it then uttered are now shaking to their very foundations 
the thrones of Europe. Who of us can forget his majestic form and 
mountain brow, as he then stood before us, the very impersonation 
of greatness and power — 

' Like some tall cliff that lifts its awful form. 
Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm ?' 

"And in view of the closing hour of his life, fringed with the rosy 
tints of a faii-er to-morrow ; in view of his serenity of mind, his Chris- 
tian resignation, and his hope of a glorious immortality, inay we not, 
with little modification, add the other lines of this beautiful stanza — 

' Though round his breast the rolling clouds were spread, 
Eternal sunshine settled on his head.' 

" These, all these, have passed from the scenes of earth. But it is 
not for me to pronounce their eulogies. Their important public ser- 
vices are their best monuments ; their untarnished fame their best 
epitaphs — 

' Though dead, they speak in reason's ear, 
And in example live.' " 

Mr. Wilder has discovered no special passion for political preferment) 
uniformly declining all civil offices till 1839, when he consented, at the 
solicitation of his neighbors, to serve them one year as their represent- 
ative in the Legislature of Massachusetts. Ten years from that date 
he was again called to public office, and took his seat as a member 
of the governor's council. The next year he was chosen one of the 
senators for Norfolk ; and on the organization of that branch of the 
legislature, was elected president of the senate, an honor which he ac- 
knowledged in a speech of great modesty and self distrust, but of neat- 
ness and force. At the close of the session Judge Merrick, one of the 
senators from Worcester, and not altogether harmonious with him in 
political sentiment, thus spoke of his official services: 

" I rise to perform one of the last and most grateful duties which de- 
volve upon us before our adjournment announces our final separation. 
Though composed of different political parties, we have not often been 
led, in the course of our deliberations, to divide according to our po- 
litical relations; however we have differed from each other in debate, 



MARSHALL P. WILDER, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 5S9 

or in the votes we have given, no acerbity of temper has at any time 
been manifested ; but a spirit of conciliation has always prevailed to 
quench every feeling of animosity. To this harmonious action no one 
has offered larger contributions than have been derived from the un- 
tiring assiduity and the uniform urbanity of our presiding officer. I 
therefore take great pleasure in offering the resolution which 1 hold in 
my hand, and which I am confident will secure the cordial assent and 
unanimous approbation of the senate. 

"I beg leave to submit the following resolution: 

" Resolved, That the thanks of the senate be presented to Hon, Mar- 
shall P. Wilder for the able, impartial, and courteous manner in which 
he has presided over its deliberations during the present session." 

This resolution passed unanimously ; and to it Mr. Wilder responded 
in a style of great cordiality and affection. We give our readers but 
a single sentiment from his speech, and that relates to freedom and 
constitutional liberty : 

" During our session, Congress and the country have been convulsed 
to an extent almost without a parallel in our national history. We 
have not been idle nor indifferent spectators of the commotion, which 
for a time threatened our glorious Union with discord, division, and 
ruin. But the e.xciting topic* has here been discussed, not only without 
crimination or recrimination, but without abuse or personal violence; 
and Massachusetts, in perfect consistency with her previous position, 
stands where she has always stood, on the side of truth, liberty, and 
right. On this rock may she stand forever." 

From that time Mr. Wilder has declined all civil offices from the 
considerations expressed under his own signature, in a letter published 
in the Boston Daily Journal, Sept. 7th, 1852, in reply to a corre- 
spondent of that paper, who had brought his name before the citizens 
of the commonwealth as a candidate for its chief magistracy. " During 
the remainder of my days, I wish to prosecute, without interruption, 
my commercial business — to enjoy, as far as possible, the comforts of 
rural life and of domestic tranquillity — and to devote such time as I 
may be able to command to agriculture, horticulture, and kindred arts. 
These are far more congenial to my taste, and in them, I trust, I may 
be able to do more for the welfare of my fellow-citizens, for the pros- 
jierity of my beloved country, and for the progress of society." 

Mr. Wilder is now realizing these aspirations, and has in course of 
preparation works which, we trust, may hereafter be given to the pub- 
lic. He is in the meridian of life, and on the flood-tide of success. His 
infli^ence is extending and salutary ; he is a patron of many humane and 
benevolent institutions, and thougli not in communion with any church 
of Christ, yet belongs to the standing order of New England, and 
ever has been a Puritan Consfresrationalist. He was connected with this 
church of his fatliers by baptism, and has never departed from it. In 
Boston he worshiped with the Bowdoin-street Society, then under the 
pastoral care successively of Rev. Lyman Beecher, D. D. and Rev. 
Hubbard VVinslow, and, after his removal to Dorchester, witli the Old 

* The Compromise Measures on the subject of slavery. 



5.40 SKETCHES OF EMINENT AMERICANS. 

South Church in tliat town. He is an able and faithful supporter of 
religious institutions. A healthful moral and religious sentiment often 
appears in his writings. Thvis he concludes his farewell to the Senate 
of Massachusetts: "May prosperity and happiness attend you in all 
your future course, and when we shall at last be removed from the 
sphere of human legislation, may we meet to rejoice in the presence of 
the Supreme Legislator, whose government is righteous, and whose laws 
are pure and perfect." The lamented Dr. Codman, for many years his 
intimate friend and faithful pastor, expressed his esteem of him in these 
words, uttered in response at the festival of the Massachusetts Horti- 
cultural Society, 1841 : "I wish that every pastor had as good a par- 
ishioner as I have in the President of the Massachusetts Horticultural 
Society." 

We promised our readers some notice of the estimates which others 
have formed of Mr. Wilder and his labors. J. S. Skinner, Esq., the 
veteran editor of the " Farmer's Library" and of " The Monthly Jour- 
nal of Agriculture," gave an account'" of him in 1848, in the latter of 
these valuable works, from which we make a few extracts. He says : 
" Enter with us one of the stores at the beo-inninor of Pearl street ; as- 
cend into spacious apartments where on every side are seen boxes and 
bales filled with the productions of the active looms of New England ; 
pass through counting-rooms where various clerks poring over huge 
ledgers tell of a widely-extended business, and finally penetrate to a 
third office. In this inner vestibule of the house of trade, sits before a 
desk covered with a large correspondence, a merchant thoroughly devo- 
ted to his calling. In his countenance you see only the engrossing cares 
of commerce, and his ample brow and clear, penetrating eye are full 
of plans for the increase of cotton-mills and American manufactured 
goods of better quality and at lower prices than foreign countries can 
possibly send into our market." 

" Affain, if we enter the sjates of Hawthorn Grove about sunrise or 
sunset, we shall find there not only grounds which are a complete mu- 
seum of horticulture, full of every variety of fruit-tree, orchards well- 
planted, and long and fruitful alleys, but also the same merchant we saw 
in the inner countinnf-i'oom in Pearl-street. The same ? Yes ! the same 
to the common observer; but not now the busy, engrossed merchant — 
only the zealous, enthusiastic horticulturist." 

" In other countries, societies or governments, with abundant means 
at their command, have undertaken the herculean task of collecting and 
proving new fruits and plants. But in this country no society haS as 
yet been able, no one of the states willing, to prosecute this interesting 
and necessary series of experiments. But what the Horticultural 
Society of London has done for England in the way of fruits, or the 
Jardin des Plantes for France in trees and plants, Mr. Wilder has to a 
very considerable extent done for New England (and we may indeed say 
for the Union) in his own private grounds at Hawthorn Grove — first by 
correspondence and importation ; secondly, by testing new fruits and 

* Journal of Agriculture, vol. iii., page 529. 



MARSHALL P. WILDER, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 541 

plants ; and thirdly, by producing new varieties by the scientific process 
of hybridization. 

" It would be difficult to present to the contemplation of our readers 
an instance of an individual who so completely accomplishes all the du- 
ties of a life of large mercantile pursuits, and yet who at the same time 
makes his few hours of leisure each day tell so emphatically for his own 
happiness, and the benefit of his fellow-cultivators of the soil in all 
parts of the country. It is only, indeed, by making horticulture the 
great working pastime of his life, that he has been able to accomplish so 
much. But can one hold up a better example to the emulation of those 
citizens who find nothing to do in the couiitr}-, and no occupation there 
worthy of engaging their energies and their industriously accumulated 
fortunes ?" 

This teslimonial was copied in extenso by A. J. Downing, Esq., editor 
of "The Horticulturist,"* who in his preface says : "Every one knows 
the high rank which the Massachusetts Horticultural Society has held 
for years past; and we hazard nothing in saying that under all circum- 
stances, this society, composed as it is of many of the abUst horticul- 
turists in the commonwealth, has been especially fortunate of late j^ears 
in \i?, presiding officer [Mr. Wilder]. In this country, without any pa- 
tronage fiora government, from wealthy corporations or powerful patrons, 
great energy, unwearied perseverance, and much skill and tact are neces- 
sary in its executive officers, to maintain the influence, meet the large 
expenses, and justify the expectations of the community regarding such 
institutions. All these qualities aie found singularly united in him. His 
indomitable energy and large store of practical knowledge are only 
equaled by the generous and unselfish manner in which he gives every 
possible moment to the duties of his position, and the cordial urbanity 
and frankness with which he meets inquiring visitors and strangers." 

The Boston Atlas in 1851 says: "Mr. Wilder has for more than 
thirty years been one of those ' solid men of Boston' — we mean one of 
those enterprising, public spirited, and upright merchants, whose virtues 
are chimed by poets, commended in the forum by grave senators, and, 
better than all, who have a practical existence, benefiting and enno- 
bling the community of which they are members. But though engaged 
in the mercantile profession, he has, like many citizens among the ' mer- 
chant princes' of Boston, devoted a large share of his time to the pure 
and elevating pursuit of horticulture, and by extensive experimental 
practice has not only applied his acquired knowledge to his personal 
profit, but has made laige and valuable additions to the commo.i stock, 
by his various discoveries and improved modes and processes of culti- 
vation. . . . His name, as the zealous patron and promoter of the 
noblest of all sciences, will fill a luminous page in the history of human 
progress and improvement — a page that will suffer no detriment by the 
lapse of years, and which will have its interpreter on every hillside and 
in every valley where rural taste and refinement are found. Long may 
he live, the benefactor of his race, and the noblest type of honorable 
manhood." 

* Horticulturist, vol. iii., page 14. 



542 SKETCHES of eminent AMERICANS. 

Similar views of his character and services have appeared in other 
journals. But these extracts suffice to show that no personal partiality- 
has biased our judgment in his favor. The time has not yet arrived 
(may it be long delayed !) to write his eulogy. Our desire has been to 
give our readers a faithful delineation of his character, an authentic his- 
tory of his past life ; and if what we have written shall encourage any 
agriculturists or horticulturists in their toil ; if it shall strengthen the 
resolution of any merchant to unite the cultivation of his own mind and 
the improvement of society with the honest acquisition of capital ; if it 
shall rouse the dormant energies of any young man, shall wisely direct 
him in the pursuit of the laudable, the beautiful, and useful, md per- 
suade him to seek therein gratification, rather than in foolish amusements 
and sinful dissipation ; if it shall induce him to economize his talents, 
his capital, and his time, and to make the utmost of himself of which 
he is capable, and shall fix in him the imwavering and noble purpose to 
do each day of his life all in his power for the welfare of himself, his 
kindred, his country, and the world, our chief object in this article will 
be accomplished. 



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